A supermarket chain has apologized after Zendaya claimed she was racially profiled while trying to purchase gift cards.
The singer and actress, whose father is African-American and whose mother is white, detailed the incident she says happened on SnapChat Tuesday as she was walking out of Vons, a supermarket chain popular in southern California. Her exact location is unclear.
“Now, I am trying to buy a lot of gift cards. There are some certain limits and some things, which is understandable. OK, cool. So I’ll take the less amount, whatever,” she said in one video. “But the lady that was helping us, I don’t think she was a huge fan of our skin tone.”
A friend, who appeared to be a person of color, accompanying her in the video commented that the sales clerk was “rude,” to which Zendaya, 20, replied, “Extremely!”
Zendaya added that she believed the woman didn’t “want to help us at all, saying that we couldn’t buy the gift cards and then throwing my wallet.”
In a series of other videos she added, “Can’t make this s— up. I just can’t make this s— up! …This is what we deal with.”
Noting that her purchase was for $400, Zendaya added in another video, “Long story short, there is so much progress to be done in our world.”
Eventually, thanks to a manager, Zendaya says she was able to make her purchase.
Vons has issued an apology.
“At Vons, we strive to treat each and every customer with the utmost respect. There is a policy that limits gift card purchases using a credit card. Zendaya was able to purchase gift cards up to our limit, and we apologize for any inconvenience or misunderstanding,” the statement read.
“We respect Zendaya’s voice in the community and similarly are committed to diversity and inclusion. Moreover, we understand that race is a sensitive issue in America and view this experience as a reminder that every interaction is an opportunity to treat each customer as we ourselves would like to be treated.”
