Waitress Receives Over $100,000 In Tips After Kicking Racist CEO Out Of Restaurant
Here's a tip!
gofundme In Carmel Valley, California, over the Fourth of July weekend, waitress Gennica Cochran stepped in and stopped Michael Lofthouse's racist rant against an Asian family that was dining and celebrating a birthday in the Lucia restaurant.
The family Lofthouse targeted was from Southern California.
Cochran told KGO-TV that she was keeping a close eye on Lofthouse the whole night. She was not his waitress that night, but she observed him switching tables and sending back his food over and over again. She even watched him rudely speak to the manager of the restaurant.
Cochran kept her cool until he started a very racist rant that included him cursing towards the family.
She stepped in when he went on his tyrannical, racist rant and said, "You need to leave right now. Get out, you are not allowed here, get out now. You do not talk to our guests like that, they are valued guests, you are not allowed here ever again!"
She said, "It's not something that I will condone ever again, being silent." And no one else should be silent when someone is being racist.
Even though she was not serving the family, Cochran said, "I felt very protective of them. You don't come in here and say those kinds of things to people. Especially people feel so raw coming out of quarantine. Most of these people this is the first time that they've been out to dinner and then you have someone attacking them it was just no, no, I don't have time for this."
She told KGO-TV, "To hear the emotion coming out of my voice, to see my mannerisms, it was unbelievable. It was just something that came over me and I just did what needed to be done," and, "I did what anybody else should or would do in that situation."
Cochran also said, "I'm not a mother, but I felt almost maternal. Right, like this is my family and I will take care of them and I will do whatever I can to protect these people. To have someone hate you just because of the way that you look, that's beyond me. I don't understand it."
Since then, Lofthouse has issued a written apology to the family he targeted.
He said, "My behavior in the video is appalling. This was clearly a moment where I lost control and made incredibly hurtful and divisive comments. I would like to deeply apologize to the Chan family. I can only imagine the stress and pain they feel. I was taught to respect people of all races, and I will take the time to reflect on my actions and work to better understand the inequality that so many of those around me face every day."
But Cochran is calling him out on it.
She said, "I think it's the standard issued apology that you get from racists. People who believe those things and they get called out for them. I don't believe a word of it," and "There's no space for that and especially a CEO of a business in San Francisco, no, no."
Above all else, Cochran has a message for the family and for the whole world.
She sends a message to the Chan family saying, "I love you. I've got your back always. I will always speak up for you and please come back to Bernardus, I'd love to buy you a drink. And please just know that those words are not the values of the people that live here on the Monterey Peninsula."
To the whole world, Cochran pleads, "If you see something do something. Stand up against racism and hatred in any form any time you can."
Her last statement to KGO-TV was that being a server at a restaurant is a very difficult job, so please be kind to all the waiters and waitresses out there.
Because Cochran stood up against racism, multiple GoFundMe campaigns were created on her behalf.
There are three main pages that go directly to her. They include:
- A Big Tip for an Everyday Hero
- Tips for Gennica Standing Up To Racist Kevin
- Give the waitress at Lucia a tip!
Complete strangers have raised over $100,000 in tips for Cochran as a reward for standing up against racism during a time when there are so many discussions happening about racism in America.
Emily Francos is a writer who covers relationships, pop culture, and news topics.