A college graduate was fired from his first job in NYC after a Twitter mob descended on him for complaining it was hard to shop for dinner at his local bodegas.
24-year-old Griffin Green, just last week moved to the Bronx from Michigan for a new job opportunity as a sales development rep with the software company Outreach.
Green posted a video to TikTok to complain that bodegas – corner stores – in his Bronx neighborhood only stocked unhealthy instant foods and that it was hard to shop properly there, compared to a larger supermarket like Kroger back home.
Not long after posting the video woke Twitter jumped on the clips, claiming they demonstrated white privilege, with Green’s employer bowing down to pressure from the small accounts screaming for them to terminate their staffer.
The series of videos that sparked outrage shows Green walking around his Bronx neighborhood, where he had moved for his new job, talking about local bodegas and asking his viewers how he was supposed to make dinner and where he could find a ‘big grocery store.’
‘OK, so I just moved to New York and I’m going to go grocery shopping, and so I type in like, ‘grocery stores,’ on my Apple Maps, and every f–king one I go to … they’re like this s–t,’ he told the camera in one video.
‘Like bro, that’s not a grocery store,’ he said as he turned the camera to show one of the small stores. ‘I’m trying to get, like eggs, yogurt, cheese, s–t like that. Like, look at this place.’
Green continues to walk through his Bronx neighborhood and states he’s been to several and doesn’t know what to do about dinner.
‘Like I’ve literally been to like five of those now, and like, I don’t know what the f–k I’m about to do for dinner. Like where are the Krogers and the Whole Foods at? Like I’m about to eat f–king like cereal and ramen for dinner, like what the f–k?’
In one clip, which seemed to have surfaced during Pride, Green commented on how many gay people are in New York, and asked whether ‘being gay is just a thing now.’
In another one, he pointed out that he was wearing an NAACP shirt to the gym in the Bronx so ‘these people’ vibe with him more.
‘I’m in the Bronx for a few weeks so I’m like the only white dude in this whole gym, so I got this NAACP shirt so these people vibe with me more,’ he purportedly said in one video, the New York Post reported.
Video that Green posted of his offer letter and announcement of moving to New York resurfaced and a Twitter user alerted the company.
‘I don’t think it’s very flattering to have this type of person representing your company,’ the user wrote. ‘I would revalue his employment if I were you.’
Outreach responded, ‘Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Upon investigation, we took swift internal action in accordance with our company policies and in alignment with our core values. He is no longer an employee of Outreach.’
The firm said Green was fired for sharing the offer letter on social media, even though it was only visible for a few seconds.
‘It is against company policy for employees to leak private and confidential information, and grounds for termination,’ Outreach’s vice president of communications told Reason. ‘We remain committed to building our culture that finds strength in our diversity, equity and inclusion — and a company where all can succeed.’
Perez Hilton – best-known for bullying female stars including Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan on his website – fueled the fires further, by tweeting that the video seemed ‘racist.’
‘I’m sure this ‘bro’ thought he was being funny, but… did anyone else view this as racist? Or just me?’
Green, who had just signed a 1-year lease with an apartment in the Bronx, told Reason he was fired on his second day of work. He asked for a chance to explain, but said he was denied.
‘People can be painted as these mean awful people when really they’re just trying to explore new things,’ Green told Reason. ‘I was exploring New York for the first time … I didn’t know that people do grocery shopping at these corner stores.’
‘It was more of an intent to almost like make fun of myself for being a new person in the city,’ he said.
Green set his TikTok account to private but on Saturday night posted a new video that addressed the backlash and included a compilation of the grad ordering food at a local bodega and handing it out to people in need.
‘If you came here from Twitter, you probably know me as “Bodega Bro,”‘ Green said. ‘So I came off private to show you guys what Bodega Bro is really all about.’
Green then bags up the bacon, egg and cheese rolls and chopped cheese rolls that he bought, along with gatorade and fruit, and films himself distributing them to various homeless men in the area.
@grifgreen20 I’m for the community #bodegabro #fyp #foryou #forme #trendy #trending ♬ Love You So – The King Khan & BBQ Show
In the video, Green adds that ‘if anyone is hiring in tech sales or needs a workout partner in New York,’ to let him know.