A local business owner in Florida is facing fiery backlash in his community and a boycott of his business after his bizarre and dangerous behavior in a gay bar has gone viral.
After being told he needed to wear a mask in the bar by one of its bartenders, the man unleashed a torrent of profanity and then spit in the bartender's face.
It all happened in the city of Wilton Manors, Florida near Fort Lauderdale at The Pub, a local gay bar. Bartender Shane Cullinan recounted the incident on his Facebook page.
(Warning: The post contains offensive language.)
Cullinan was working on Friday, June 12 when well-known local business owner Gary Bouvier came behind the bar, apparently looking for the bathroom. Bouvier was not wearing a mask, so after directing him to he bathroom, Cullinan informed Bouvier that The Pub requires masks while inside the bar.
Bouvier gave a belligerent reply.
"You don't know who I am, and fu*k off."
Cullinan followed Bouvier to the bathroom and repeated the bar's policy and got yet another belligerent response.
A few minutes later, things took a wild and disgusting turn.
As Cullinan wrote in his Facebook post:
"Probably about 7 minutes later he comes in from outside, actually has a mask on, pulls it down and spits in my face. He says, 'Fu*k off and you messed with the wrong person' I was completely in shock and so was his wife. This man spit in my face and put my life at risk and other patrons who were around the area."
Perhaps worst of all, Bouvier is a well-known business owner—he owns a restaurant in town, Wilton Wings.
The incident has outraged the community so much that it made the local news.
Miami news outlet WSVN spoke with the owner of The Pub, Mike Connell.
Wilton Manors bartender speaks out after Gary Bouvier spits on him.youtu.be
In his interview with the outlet, Connell shared Cullinan's outrage for Mr. Bouvier.
"Terrible disrespecting, you know, especially the environment we live in today, and especially [from] a local business owner..."
For his part, Mr. Bouvier reportedly issued an apology in a non-public Facebook post.
"I consumed too much alcohol and engaged in out-of-character behavior for which I profoundly regret. I hope that I may demonstrate that one moment of poor judgment does not define who I am. I deeply apologize to Shane."
But people in the community seem less than impressed—a Facebook page titled "Boycott Wilton Wings & Stop Gary Bouvier From Assaulting Others" was made shortly after the incident.
And on Facebook, people were firmly on Cullinan's side.
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According to WSVN, local police are investigating the incident via The Pub's surveillance footage and Connell has pledged to support Cullinan should he decide to press charges against Bouvier.
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