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After a super uncomfortable encounter with a gas station clerk Friday night, Whitney Way Thore — star of TLC's "My Big Fat Fabulous Life" — took to Facebook to share the details of a "beyond frustrating and belittling" interaction.
I just got home after a long day. Thirty minutes ago, I stopped in a gas station for some Tylenol and gum. As soon as I walked in, the clerk said, "Hey sweetheart." When I went to the counter to pay, he said, "You gotta give me a smile if you want this," and hid my gum away in his hand. "No thanks," I told him. "I'll just have the gum." He didn't ring up my gum and instead grumbled under his breath and lectured me about having a bad attitude. Interactions like this are beyond frustrating and belittling. I was not rude to this man, and I do not owe him a smile or outward display of happiness — I was exhausted and had a headache, but that doesn't even matter because I do not need to justify not smiling on demand for a stranger. Would he have held a male customer's items hostage until he smiled for him? I'm willing to bet everything I own that the answer is no. #stoptellingwomentosmile
While many replied with messages of support for Way Thore, she also received the opinions of those who felt she was over-reacting.
But Way Thore didn't let those comments slide without defending herself.
Would the clerk have asked a male customer to smile before checking out his gum and Tylenol?
Way Thore thinks not.
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