South African actor Tina Redman has publicly shamed Dis-Chem for allegedly racially profiling them.
Last week, Redman took to Twitter to share their experience at Neighbourhood Square, where they were accused of stealing false lashes.
“Just got racially profiled @Dischem Neighbourhood Square-multiple people forcibly took me to the back, frisked me (despite refusing to search my white partner), falsely accused me of stealing fake eyelashes & then refused to show me the footage that apparently incriminated me,” wrote Redman.
They added: “Even after the search, the person who claimed to have seen me (in person & on the security camera!) stealing the eyelashes and chucking the box down refused to apologise or acknowledge the mistake. No remorse or concern for the distress this caused me.”
Just got racially profiled @Dischem Neighbourhood Square-multiple people forcibly took me to the back, frisked me (despite refusing to search my white partner), falsely accused me of stealing fake eyelashes & then refused to show me the footage that apparently incriminated me 1/3 pic.twitter.com/gwjFo7EhcY
— Tina Redman (@TinaRedman1) March 5, 2023
Redman finished the Twitter thread by saying the store manager claimed it wasn’t a racial thing even though they (Redman) were the only black person in the store and didn’t go to the cosmetics area.
A day later Redman published an update, saying the security at Dis-Chem phoned to say they made a mistake.
When Redman requested that Dis-Chem give her a written apology, they were told it was against company policy to do so.
@Dischem your security have called to say they saw the CCTV footage and they had made “a big mistake”. I want a written apology folks. What you did was violent and can’t be taken lightly. https://t.co/VbZCZAfnN4
— Tina Redman (@TinaRedman1) March 6, 2023
In response to the tweets, Dis-Chem said it does not discriminate by race, nor does it condone racism.
“We trust that our store manager has been in contact with you. We wanted to advise that the security in our stores is owned and operated by an independent company. The matter has been escalated to the senior management of this company for a thorough investigation,” said Dis-Chem.
I am currently waiting for a written apology in which @dischem takes responsibility for what happens in its stores. https://t.co/7yUzdg8RpN
— Tina Redman (@TinaRedman1) March 6, 2023
Tweeps have since accused Dis-Chem of being unprofessional by blaming the security they hired instead of taking accountability.
“This entire situation is odious @Dischem. DO BETTER. The very LEAST you can do is take being called out on the chin and give a written apology. Blaming your 3rd party security company is just slimy,” commented @mymumcallsmegus.
Below are more reactions from tweeps.
My favorite protective style is the one I rock when I walk into your store & get taken to the back to be frisked because someone accused me of stealing based on my skin colour, then not getting neither a chance to see the supposed footage of me stealing, nor an apology... https://t.co/VGgnpEZtpj
— GAMElihle Bovana (@yesIamGAME) March 6, 2023
Do something about this branch because the reviews online are beyond shocking @Dischem https://t.co/Lcsivzu5b8
— Hand made with ❤ (@neomakeup) March 6, 2023
@Dischem kindly assist our sister, this is totally unacceptable and discriminating, no one deserve such treatment, just deal with this matter fairly and professionally. https://t.co/8OSUlHZoXp
— Ntandokazi (@Mka_Mgazi) March 6, 2023
Dis-Chem had not responded to IOL’s request for comment by the time of publication.