“We Need To Change The Narrative" — Bikini Clad Barista Who Smashed Man’s Windshield With Hammer Tells Her Side Of Story

Coffee is known to cause shitstorms — but not like this.

In a caffeinated corner of Southern Seattle, on June 11, the ordinarily tranquil Taste of Heaven Espresso (@tasteofheaven.espresso) drive-thru turned into a scene out of a thriller.

Emma Lee (@emmxxss), the solo barista and owner of the bikini coffee spot, found herself in the eye of a storm when a customer, irate over the $22 tab for his drinks, crossed the line.

“He just went berserk,” Emma recalled.

The customer had a freak out over the cost and hurled his coffee and water at her.

But Emma wasn’t backing down.

When a customer angry over the price of his coffee threw his beverage at her, the barista took a hammer to his windshield

When the guy’s temper exploded, Emma’s patience evaporated.

She defended herself in the most direct way possible: by smashing his windshield with a hammer.

“Nobody is gonna miss you,” the man said.

Emma asked, “Do you want me to throw this on you?”

The man’s retort? “Give it to me,” he sneered before throwing his coffee on her.

After the dousing, he retreated to his car, but Emma wasn’t finished. She grabbed a hammer and shattered his windshield.

“I felt in danger,” she later said.

The customer sped off, tail between his legs, as Emma called the police.

Watch the video of the incident here

⁩ ⁨Bikini-clad barista takes hammer to customer's windshield after he threw coffee at her. ⁨In this scene, who is wrong and right again? I consider the action of the barista coffee shop employee to be the right action. pic.twitter.com/bjvBMhBrlQ

— hirae4b (@Hermione1234556) June 17, 2024

The barista, Emma, had problems with the customer in the past

This wasn’t a random face in the crowd. Emma knew this “aggressive” patron. Their prior interactions had been tense, but never physical.

Speaking with Fox News, she said, “He’d never gotten physically violent before.”

In an Instagram post dated June 13, Emma delved deeper into the incident, spotlighting a grim reality. “We work alone in this industry, wearing nearly nothing and interacting with men (most of which we don’t know) all day.”

Emma calls for the narrative surrounding the incident to change

“It’s OK for him to be outraged about the price of his drinks, enough to assault me, but it’s not appropriate for me to respond?” Emma asks.

In a candid social media post, Emma says, “Due to the unforeseen amount of attention this video has received, I want to address the real issue here: the safety of women, more specifically those that are disproportionately less protected.”

She continued: “The fact that the first thing people want to know is what I did to deserve him throwing two drinks at me is disgusting. We need to change the narrative of these conversations.”

Emma hammered home her point by saying: “This is no longer the time of women that will smile and apologize, having our only acceptable response be the art of de-escalation—this time, we will fight back.”

The internet is divided over who is at fault

H/T