An Ethiopian woman is facing a severe backlash after she accused an Asian-owned boba tea shop of ‘stealing black culture’ and went on a nasty tirade against the workers.
A video of the woman, who was later identified as Alewia Tola Roba – a research fellow at the Colorado State Government Capitol Building – going on the explosive rant at a drink restaurant called Trap Tea – The Boba Plug in Aurora, Colorado, was first shared to Twitter in August 2020.
However, the clip recently went viral again after it resurfaced on Reddit in a post titled: ‘Karen accuses Indonesians of “stealing black culture”.’
Alewia, who was 23 at the time, berated the employees, screamed at her fellow customers, and used racial slurs while claiming that the establishment was making money off of black culture because it used the word ‘trap’ in its name.
A ‘trap house’ is a term often used in the black community to refer to a place where drugs are sold.
An Ethiopian woman is facing a severe backlash after she accused an Asian-owned boba tea shop of ‘stealing black culture’ and went on a nasty tirade against the workers
A video of Alewia Tola Roba going on the explosive rant at a drink restaurant called Trap Tea – The Boba Plug in Colorado (seen) was first shared to Twitter in August 2020
But the video recently went viral again after it resurfaced on Reddit. In it, Alewia berated the employees (one of whom is seen), screamed at her fellow customers, and used racial slurs
‘I have a question, is this black owned?’ Alewia could be heard asking an employee as she entered the restaurant.
She claimed that the establishment was making money off of black culture because it used the word ‘trap’ in its name
‘Uh no,’ he told her, to which she replied, ‘OK, interesting.’
She then headed to the counter to pick up her pre-placed order, where she once again asked a worker if the store was ‘black owned.’
‘No, we’re Indonesian,’ he explained.
‘OK, do you think you guys are using black culture to gain attention and gain customers?’ she fired back to the flustered employee.
She then started screaming at the top of her lungs to everyone else in the shop: ‘This establishment is not black owned but they’re stealing black culture.’
‘You’re thieves. Asian people stealing black culture once again. It’s OK, you’ll be exposed,’ she continued during her nearly two-minute long outburst.
‘I came here because I thought it was black owned. I told my friends, “I’m supporting a black business.” But this is not black owned.’
‘I have a question, is this black owned?’ Alewia could be heard asking an employee as she entered the restaurant. ‘Uh no,’ he told her, to which she replied, ‘OK, interesting’
She then headed to the counter to pick up her pre-placed order, where she once again asked a worker if the store was ‘black owned.’ He explained, ‘No, we’re Indonesian’
She then started screaming at the top of her lungs to everyone else in the shop: ‘This establishment is not black owned but they’re stealing black culture’
‘You’re thieves. Asian people stealing black culture once again. It’s OK, you’ll be exposed,’ she continued during her nearly two-minute long outburst
She even started to argue with other customers, calling one man who tried to defend the business a ‘c**n,’ which is defined as ‘an insulting and contemptuous term for a black person.’
After the incident went viral in August 2020, the company addressed it on Instagram, insisting that the name came from an ‘appreciation of black, Southern culture.’
‘Today has been an interesting day and we have received a ton of exposure – some good and some bad,’ the brand wrote.
‘But at the end of the day, we want everyone to know that Trap Tea is about love and bringing everyone together.
‘The name came from the appreciation of black, Southern culture, the grind, hustle, and drive that we put into the brand, and the friends and family we have collaborated with to make it possible.
‘This is about appreciation of the culture and bringing a dope spin for everyone to come enjoy something new.’
It was eventually renamed to Banned Boba Bar.
She also started to argue with other customers, calling one man who tried to defend the business a ‘c**n,’ which is defined as ‘an insulting and contemptuous term for a black person’
After the incident, the company addressed it on Instagram, insisting that the name came from an ‘appreciation of black, Southern culture.’ It was then renamed to Banned Boba Bar
When it was shared to Reddit this week, the video sparked a slew of criticism for Alewia. Some people branded her as ‘racist’ and said she was using ‘stereotypes’ to fuel her argument
When the video was first shared in 2020, it gained hundreds of thousands of views and left many people on the web outraged with Alewia’s behavior.
And when it was posted to Reddit this week, it sparked even more criticism for Alewia.
One person claimed that she was being ‘racist’ and using ‘stereotypes’ to fuel her argument, adding, ‘She needs a nap.’
‘Ignorance combined with confidence is never a good thing,’ someone else said.
‘Boba tea is Taiwanese, if the business was black owned then she has no issues with black culture stealing boba from Taiwanese and making money, but Asians using “a black word” is stealing culture?’ another user asked.
‘By her own logic: wouldn’t a black owned boba place be stealing Asian culture?’ a different user agreed.
‘Her argument is so stupid because she’s basically saying that only black people use trap houses,’ read a fourth comment.
‘She isn’t doing anyone any good with that argument. All she’s doing is putting a bad light on black people.
‘Last time I checked a trap house is used by anyone involved with drugs whether they’re black, white, Asian, or Hispanic.’
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