A cisgender woman who claims she was fired by Walmart after a customer accused her of being trans, has said the situation was “confusing” and “heart-breaking”.
Dani Davis took to Facebook on Monday (24 March) to ask for advice following her dismissal from Walmart, where she had worked for seven years. She wrote that she is a cisgender woman who is “really tall” – 6ft 4in – and gave details of the incident, which she says happened on 14 March at a store in Florida.
While she was alone in a toilet, a man entered and began shouting about trans people, claiming he would “protect his wife or girlfriend from them,” and insinuating that the Davis was transgender.
She reported the incident to a supervisor but a week later was informed that she had been sacked for failing to inform a “salaried member of management” about the interaction, which was deemed a “security risk”, she said.
‘Being fired so suddenly felt like a stab in the back’
“It felt absolutely awful, hurtful, confusing and just heart-breaking,” Davis told PinkNews. I had worked full-time there for seven years.
“I worked hard and tried to treat everyone kindly. Being fired so suddenly felt like a stab in the back… and to be let go for being a security risk of all things was just them twisting the knife. Especially after what happened.
‘Bigotry is unfortunately part of daily life’
“My mom and I decided to put my story on social media, just to let people know or maybe warn others of the possible dangers,” Davis continued. “I honestly didn’t expect it to gain as much traction as it has, as quickly as it has.”
She has been inundated with messages, comments and people offering advice, she said. “I live in the south where bigotry is unfortunately part of daily life”, she went on to say before revealing that not long ago she was pulled over by police for having a rainbow licence plate frame.
Walmart scrapped company equality policies in November in the wake of pressure from right-wing pundits, who threatened to boycott outlets ahead of the Black Friday sales.
PinkNews has contacted Walmart for a comment.
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