PUBLISHED ONApril 19, 2024 4:15 AMByBhavya RawatA woman who posted a video criticising a restaurant at Cineleisure incurred the wrath of netizens instead, who called her out for being entitled.
In a video posted to Instagram on Monday (April 15), a user who goes by the name Ana Ortiz claimed that she and her family were "kicked out" of The Assembly Ground restaurant because she brought in food from another restaurant.
On her Instagram bio, she describes herself as a Colombian living in Singapore.
Explaining that she could not eat anything in the restaurant as she had recently undergone pancreas surgery, the mother of four said that the rest of her family, which consists of her husband and four daughters, had ordered food from there.
"We paid for six people to eat here, but now I have to leave," Ortiz said.
"I have to tell my super small daughters that they have to leave the food on the table and find food somewhere else - they are starving!"
Ortiz is then heard asking a restaurant employee to repeat that she could not eat at the restaurant and had to "take away all her family [members] and leave all the food".
The employee responded that only Ortiz's food had to be removed from the restaurant and she had to leave if she wanted to eat it.
Ortiz's husband can then be heard repeatedly saying "we are leaving" to the employee while Ortiz tells her daughters to put their food back as the entire family leaves the restaurant.
The young girls look visibly upset at having to leave, with one of them saying that she "was so hungry" and "only had two bites".
Ortiz repeatedly bashed the restaurant for their actions and said: "I told them this is going on Instagram, and I need you (the viewers) to share this, because this restaurant deserves it."
Ortiz has since made her Instagram profile private but her video has been reposted on Reddit and TikTok.
Many netizens were enraged by Ortiz's behaviour, calling her entitled.
"Classic 'Karen' behaviour," said one netizen.
"Any sane person would have put their food away, let their family finish eating and eat their food later - not force their own kids away from their food, make a scene and a smug video," another Redditor said.
Some netizens explained why restaurants often do not allow outside food.
One such netizen said: "I worked in a restaurant previously. I was told by multiple managers that this policy is put in place to prevent the establishment from being wrongly held liable in food poisoning cases."
"Of course, some restaurants use this as a way to chase away non-paying customers."
Another netizen who related to Ortiz's dietary restrictions said: "I've been in situations where I needed to have my own prepared meals. Two things I do: First, I ask if it's ok - and even if it is, I will still order something from their menu, a drink or take away something for home."
"Second: if it's not ok, I just say thank you and order a drink."
"Most establishments are ok with it, I've never been asked to leave [for this reason]," the netizen added.
The incident recently caught the eye of American content creator Soogia, who made two TikTok videos saying that Ortiz was entitled.
As a result, netizens from the US and many other countries left encouraging messages on The Assembly Ground's TikTok page, voicing their support.
One netizen commented: "We support you! Not entitled people for sure. Food looks great!"
"I want to thank that 'Karen' for her video. Now I have a new place on my list to visit and show support," said another TikTok user.
Responding to AsiaOne's queries, The Assembly Ground Cineleisure said that the matter has been resolved privately between the parties involved.
AsiaOne was not able to reach out to Ortiz for comment as she has since made her Instagram account private.
bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
