'IS IT MY SKIN COLOUR?'
Starbucks accused of racism AGAIN after staff ‘allowed white customer to use the toilet but not black man’
STARBUCKS has found itself at the centre of a second racism row after a store manager seemingly stopped a black man from using its toilet.
Brandon Ward filmed his interaction with a white man who was given the bathroom code at the Los Angeles outlet without making a purchase - even though he was denied it.
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Mr Ward, of Carson, California, quizzes the man on his visit before asking the store manager why he wasn't given the code.
He then added: "Is it because of my skin colour?"
The woman in charge tells Mr Ward to stop filming and orders him out of the store before he seems to be approached by a security guard.
"This man came in here and didn’t ask to buy nothing," Ward, a former student at Lincoln University, .
He added: "He actually used the bathroom. He first walked in there and walked straight to the bathroom... didn't walk up to get no coffee, no frappe."
Brandon Ward claims Starbucks denied him access to the toilets while giving access to another white customer
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Prominent black rights activist with the caption: "Here we go again."
King goes on: "Meet Brandon Ward... They denied him the code. He then finds a white man... who came out of the rest room. He had not made a purchase but they gave HIM the code."
It comes days after calls for a global Starbucks boycott after two black men were arrested for "not ordering anything" while sitting in one of the chain's shops.
Mobile phone footage appears to show the men being handcuffed and frogmarched out of the store in Philadelphia, US.
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Outraged customers took to Twitter with the hashtag #BoycottStarbucks as they accused the chain's employees of racially profiling the men who were waiting for a friend in store.
One tweeted: "Dear Starbucks, Calling the police to arrest two black guys just for being there is not an 'incident'.
"It's racism at its ugliest level. And it should have no place in America. Sincerely, #BoycottStarbucks."
Actor Wendell Pierce - who works alongside royal bride-to-be Meghan Markle in US drama Suits - also waded in calling for customers to take their money elsewhere amid the race storm.
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Starbucks has since apologised for the incident and its CEO Kevin Johnson says he wants to personally say sorry to the two men, who have now been released.
Police said Starbucks employees called to say the men were trespassing but the footage sparked accusations of racism on social media.
Melissa DePino, who filmed the footage on her phone, posted her own version of events on Twitter, wrote: "The police were called because these men hadn't ordered anything.
"They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did. They were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the white people are wondering why its never happened to us when we do the same thing."
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Mr Johnson said the firm "stands firmly against discrimination or racial profiling" and wants to meet the men to offer a "face-to-face apology".
Cops were told they asked to use the restroom but were denied as they had not bought anything.
The district attorney’s office said the pair were released because of lack of evidence of a crime.
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In a lengthy statement posted on Starbucks' website, Mr Johnson said the situation was "disheartening" and led a "reprehensible" outcome.
And he promised to make "necessary" changes to the firm's "practices".
He added that it was "wrong" for the store to call police, saying: "You should expect more from us."
Starbucks apologises over video of two black men getting arrested ‘for using toilet’ at Philadelphia coffee shop
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