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Posted byBy A.L. Lee | Published on: April 1, 2025 CommentsComments (0)
A Black man in Los Angeles returned more than $200 worth of groceries to Whole Foods after a store manager wrongly accused him of shoplifting and demanded his receipt as he sat for a bite in the store’s cafe.
The tense confrontation happened at the Whole Foods in Culver City, a suburb near Venice Beach, the high-end grocery chain confirmed in an email to Atlanta Black Star.
The harassment at the store, located at Jefferson and La Cienega, was captured in a video that has since gone viral on TikTok. None of the parties involved have been identified, though a name tag worn by the Hispanic man who claimed to be the manager identified him as Josue Astl. It’s not clear if he is still employed at the store following what appeared to be a case of racial profiling.
A manager at a Culver City Whole Foods accuses a Black man of stealing groceries. (Photos: TikTok/dwat803)
The video starts out showing the manager being encouraged by two security guards to back off an apparent situation that erupted with a Black customer before the camera started rolling.
The Black man can be heard saying that if they wanted to see his receipt to come back, so they turned around and started toward him. From there the video skips forward a beat, next showing the manager flanking the Black man, and doubling back around a bottled water display.
The Black man, holding the camera and walking the other way, can be heard complaining that he was being hounded for no reason.
As the Black man headed to walk out of the store, the manager could be heard in the distance saying, “Don’t come back,” which was met angrily with, “Who the f—k is you?”
The Black man was clearly agitated, calling for a refund and demanding to speak with the manager, but instead of getting another supervisor, the Hispanic man claimed, “I am the manager.”
However, the Black man wasn’t having any more nonsense: “I want the real manager, f—k this!” he growled. The Black man first appeared to be trying to evade the in-store pursuit but then changed course and walked up to address the manager face-to-face. With the camera still rolling, the Black man wanted to get to the bottom of why he was being followed and why he needed to show his receipt.
“Why?” he snapped, putting the manager on his heels. “That’s all of our product right there, if you didn’t pay for it,” he replied but trying not to be confrontational about it. The Black man started threatening to sue the store and Astl for discrimination, causing a scene in the middle of the store.
From there, the manager apparently gave up on the matter and wandered off, while the Black man calmly rolled his cart about 40 feet before stopping at the return counter.
“Excuse me, I’ve been accused of stealing, so I want to return everything I got,” the man declared politely. One of two stone-faced cashiers asked if he had the receipt and he said yes but didn’t immediately hand it over as the female cashier said he had to wait for the same manager to approve his returns—setting the stage for a final showdown at the register.
“He sees a Black person sitting there eating, and he accuses them of stealing,” the Black man complained after the woman summoned the manager over the intercom. “Okay, well, take it all back then.”
Once the manager arrived at the register, he again accused the man of not paying.
“Bulls—t. Bulls—t,” the Black man grumbled, becoming outraged again.
That’s when the Black man proceeded to shame him with the receipt, proving he had paid for everything. He wanted a witness. Holding the slip of paper out for the cashiers, he asked them what the total showed. The male cashier took a closer look and said the receipt showed he paid $233. “Paid how?” the Black man demanded sharply. “By debit,” the cashier answered but politely asked the man to stop yelling.
The Black man quickly apologized and handed his receipt to the young man, who started scanning his groceries for a full return.
“All of it. I want everything returned, and that way y’all can keep this s—t,” the man kept ranting. “How about that, manager?” he said, turning the camera back at the man who started it all.
“Okay, all right,” the manager said, shamefaced. But then he kept the argument going by saying the items he paid for shouldn’t have been inside his grocery bags, which made no sense to the man and caused him to become even more agitated. “What the f—k is you talking about?”
At this point, the man found himself surrounded by two security guards. The manager remained several paces away but kept his eye on the register as if he had to supervise the returns being made.
The Black man then took aim at the manager’s discrimination. “Ain’t nothing but a racist Mexican motherf—ker, that’s all it is,” “he saw a black person sitting there eating good and he couldn’t stand it. This guy, this racist f—king Mexican.
“I’m not racist. All I asked for was a receipt,” the manager tried to explain himself, repeating, “All I asked for was a receipt.”
“Ain’t none of your business what the f—k I bought,” the Black man exploded. “F–k you talking about? Ask everybody in the store for their receipt then. The f–k you just coming up to me for? Cause you a f–king racist that’s why.”
The manager didn’t like being confronted so he started drifting away until the Black man called him back. “Where you going, racist? Come back up here,” the Black man beckoned. The argument continued. “Because I stole everything, right?” the Black man asked.
“I just asked for a receipt, that’s all I asked,” the manager replied.
“You don’t get to ask me what…” the Black man couldn’t get his words out fast enough and stumbled over himself. “It ain’t none of your business what I got. If I paid for it already, it’s mine. You don’t get to walk up to nobody and ask them for no receipt just because you see them sitting there.
That’s when the manager revealed that security had informed him they observed the man grab some items from the hot bar and start eating without paying.
“Security is a goddamn lie,” the Black man said, looking back at them now. He had the receipt to prove it. The cashier asked if he wanted to return the hot bar items he had been eating, and he demanded his money back for that, too. Standing there with their arms crossed, the security guys denied telling the manager that he had stolen food.
“You don’t have to be standing over me either,” the Black man said, his voice indicating he was emotionally exhausted from the episode.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to Whole Foods for comment, and a spokesperson responded through email, stating, “We have investigated the incident in our Culver City store and are taking action in accordance with out policies, including issuing discipline up to and including separation of employment, if appropriate.”
The statement did not provide specifics and the chain did not disclose the names of the security employees involved. Atlanta Black Star also reached out to the Black man in the video, who said Whole Foods has been in touch with him and is working to rectify the situation.
‘All of It!’: Black Customer at California Whole Foods Returns $233 In Groceries After Store Manager Wrongfully Accuses Him of Stealing. Now That Worker’s Job Is on the Line
Posted byBy A.L. Lee | Published on: April 1, 2025 CommentsComments (0)
A Black man in Los Angeles returned more than $200 worth of groceries to Whole Foods after a store manager wrongly accused him of shoplifting and demanded his receipt as he sat for a bite in the store’s cafe.
The tense confrontation happened at the Whole Foods in Culver City, a suburb near Venice Beach, the high-end grocery chain confirmed in an email to Atlanta Black Star.
The harassment at the store, located at Jefferson and La Cienega, was captured in a video that has since gone viral on TikTok. None of the parties involved have been identified, though a name tag worn by the Hispanic man who claimed to be the manager identified him as Josue Astl. It’s not clear if he is still employed at the store following what appeared to be a case of racial profiling.
The video starts out showing the manager being encouraged by two security guards to back off an apparent situation that erupted with a Black customer before the camera started rolling.
The Black man can be heard saying that if they wanted to see his receipt to come back, so they turned around and started toward him. From there the video skips forward a beat, next showing the manager flanking the Black man, and doubling back around a bottled water display.
The Black man, holding the camera and walking the other way, can be heard complaining that he was being hounded for no reason.
As the Black man headed to walk out of the store, the manager could be heard in the distance saying, “Don’t come back,” which was met angrily with, “Who the f—k is you?”
The Black man was clearly agitated, calling for a refund and demanding to speak with the manager, but instead of getting another supervisor, the Hispanic man claimed, “I am the manager.”
However, the Black man wasn’t having any more nonsense: “I want the real manager, f—k this!” he growled. The Black man first appeared to be trying to evade the in-store pursuit but then changed course and walked up to address the manager face-to-face. With the camera still rolling, the Black man wanted to get to the bottom of why he was being followed and why he needed to show his receipt.
“Why?” he snapped, putting the manager on his heels. “That’s all of our product right there, if you didn’t pay for it,” he replied but trying not to be confrontational about it. The Black man started threatening to sue the store and Astl for discrimination, causing a scene in the middle of the store.
From there, the manager apparently gave up on the matter and wandered off, while the Black man calmly rolled his cart about 40 feet before stopping at the return counter.
“Excuse me, I’ve been accused of stealing, so I want to return everything I got,” the man declared politely. One of two stone-faced cashiers asked if he had the receipt and he said yes but didn’t immediately hand it over as the female cashier said he had to wait for the same manager to approve his returns—setting the stage for a final showdown at the register.
“He sees a Black person sitting there eating, and he accuses them of stealing,” the Black man complained after the woman summoned the manager over the intercom. “Okay, well, take it all back then.”
Once the manager arrived at the register, he again accused the man of not paying.
“Bulls—t. Bulls—t,” the Black man grumbled, becoming outraged again.
That’s when the Black man proceeded to shame him with the receipt, proving he had paid for everything. He wanted a witness. Holding the slip of paper out for the cashiers, he asked them what the total showed. The male cashier took a closer look and said the receipt showed he paid $233. “Paid how?” the Black man demanded sharply. “By debit,” the cashier answered but politely asked the man to stop yelling.
The Black man quickly apologized and handed his receipt to the young man, who started scanning his groceries for a full return.
“All of it. I want everything returned, and that way y’all can keep this s—t,” the man kept ranting. “How about that, manager?” he said, turning the camera back at the man who started it all.
“Okay, all right,” the manager said, shamefaced. But then he kept the argument going by saying the items he paid for shouldn’t have been inside his grocery bags, which made no sense to the man and caused him to become even more agitated. “What the f—k is you talking about?”
At this point, the man found himself surrounded by two security guards. The manager remained several paces away but kept his eye on the register as if he had to supervise the returns being made.
The Black man then took aim at the manager’s discrimination. “Ain’t nothing but a racist Mexican motherf—ker, that’s all it is,” “he saw a black person sitting there eating good and he couldn’t stand it. This guy, this racist f—king Mexican.
“I’m not racist. All I asked for was a receipt,” the manager tried to explain himself, repeating, “All I asked for was a receipt.”
“Ain’t none of your business what the f—k I bought,” the Black man exploded. “F–k you talking about? Ask everybody in the store for their receipt then. The f–k you just coming up to me for? Cause you a f–king racist that’s why.”
The manager didn’t like being confronted so he started drifting away until the Black man called him back. “Where you going, racist? Come back up here,” the Black man beckoned. The argument continued. “Because I stole everything, right?” the Black man asked.
“I just asked for a receipt, that’s all I asked,” the manager replied.
“You don’t get to ask me what…” the Black man couldn’t get his words out fast enough and stumbled over himself. “It ain’t none of your business what I got. If I paid for it already, it’s mine. You don’t get to walk up to nobody and ask them for no receipt just because you see them sitting there.
That’s when the manager revealed that security had informed him they observed the man grab some items from the hot bar and start eating without paying.
“Security is a goddamn lie,” the Black man said, looking back at them now. He had the receipt to prove it. The cashier asked if he wanted to return the hot bar items he had been eating, and he demanded his money back for that, too. Standing there with their arms crossed, the security guys denied telling the manager that he had stolen food.
“You don’t have to be standing over me either,” the Black man said, his voice indicating he was emotionally exhausted from the episode.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to Whole Foods for comment, and a spokesperson responded through email, stating, “We have investigated the incident in our Culver City store and are taking action in accordance with out policies, including issuing discipline up to and including separation of employment, if appropriate.”
The statement did not provide specifics and the chain did not disclose the names of the security employees involved. Atlanta Black Star also reached out to the Black man in the video, who said Whole Foods has been in touch with him and is working to rectify the situation.
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