A 16-year-old restaurant worker is planning to sue the Olive Garden chain after what she charges was harassment when she was ridiculed by a customer who wanted “a server who wasn’t Black.”

Amira Donahue, who was working as a hostess at the restaurant in Evansville, Indiana, told local station WEVV the incident began when the patron, a white woman, made insensitive comments about her to other Olive Garden employees.

“She asked for a white or non-colored server,” Donahue said. “They give it to her. She continues eating. While she’s dining, she pulls my other Black host coworker aside. And was like, ‘I don’t like it anymore,’ with a plate of half-eaten food. ‘I don’t like it anymore, it’s soggy. And the other host shouldn’t be working here. She’s disrespectful. She should go work at the strip club instead because she’s not family friendly.' ”

Her manager, she said, tried to pacify the customer, telling Donahue “Just be more nice. The customer is always right.’ Just keeps saying that.”

When Donahue’s co-workers turned on her, she said they would say to her, “This is why we don't hire children,” “He didn't deserve this” and “Are you happy the manager got fired?”

The manager's firing after the incident, only intensified the harassment of Donahue’s co-workers towards her, she said. But her lawyer says that illustrates the racism she’s had to endure. “Essentially what she had to deal with in this one instance was racial discrimination, and a hostile work environment,” said attorney Brandon Danks. “Since that incident, Olive Garden, we believe, hasn’t taken the necessary steps to correct that, or do anything to prevent it from happening again.”
Danks told WEVV Donahue, who quit her job at Olive Garden, is "anticipating litigation" and will "eventually file something."

She said she received an apology from the team’s senior members, but the situation has had an emotional impact. 

“It’s a lot of weight on my shoulders. Especially for me,” Donahue said. “Someone going through school and also having a bunch of other stuff to deal with. Especially having to go back to that workplace every single day. I’m just trying to put on my big girl pants. Like I say, put on my face in public, and cry in private.”
Olive Garden did not comment on the spefics of the incident or the litigation, only sending WEVV a statement saying:  “We have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind, and the manager involved no longer works for our company.”