Retail pharmacy group Dis-Chem has apologised to actress Tina Redman after they were allegedly racially profiled by security at its Neighbourhood Square branch in Johannesburg. (note that Redman’s pronouns are they/them)
Redman took to Twitter this week to narrate a series of events that led to them being accused of stealing fake eyelashes. The actress also lodged a complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission.
“Multiple people forcibly took me to the back, frisked me despite refusing to search my white partner, falsely accused me of stealing fake eyelashes and then refused to show me the footage that incriminated me,” they wrote on Twitter.
“Even after the search, the person who claimed to have seen me in person and 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.
“The manager [a white man] claimed it wasn’t a racial thing, but I was the only black person in the store and l didn’t even go into the cosmetics area.”
In a statement on Thursday, Dis-Chem said Redman’s experience was unfortunate.
“Dis-Chem has unreservedly apologised to a consumer, Tina Redman, for her unfortunate experience after a recent incident at one of its stores,” said the retailer.
“This follows the completion of an in-depth investigation involving its outsourced security contractor.
“On the day in question, the security personnel on duty made decisions and acted upon information they had at their disposal at the time, which resulted in a search of Ms Redman and her belongings.
“Anything which may result in upsetting or offending any consumer or other person is not intended. The company has sincerely apologised to Ms Redman for her unfortunate experience and has formally acknowledged that she was without blame.”
Dis-Chem has confirmed that it is reviewing its internal training systems and policies to ensure that similar incidents can be easily avoided in the future.
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
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