She's baaaack!

‘Michaels lady’ Jennifer Boyle breaks silence over viral videos, insists she’s the real victim

After nearly two months, the woman who went on a racist tirade over a $1 Michaels bag and a homophobic rant over a bottle of water at a Peet’s coffee shop is finally breaking her silence.

“This wasn’t about race, this was not about political views,” 29-year-old Jennifer Boyle said in an exclusive interview with NBC 5 in Chicago, “this was about very poor customer service and being told to leave without warning.”

Related: Trump Voter Cries Discrimination During Tirade At Michaels Over $1 Bag

Since the videos of Boyle calling a black Michaels employee an “animal” and a gay Peet’s employee a “bitch” went viral last November, Boyle says she’s become the target of online bullies who have made “disgusting, derogatory, crude” comments about her and accused her of being racist, homophobic, and mentally “unhinged,” which she insists is simply not accurate.

According to Jenny, “There’s not one bone in my body that’s racist or homophobic. And that’s the bottom line.”

Related: Woman Who Screamed At Michaels Staff Also Berated Coffee Shop Employees In Boystown And It’s All On Tape

So what happened, exactly? Here’s what she has to say about the incident at Michaels:

“My perception of what was happening after being told to leave was that I was being discriminated against not only based on not wanting to buy reusable bags … but also the fact that she brought up my political affiliation and who I voted for, who she assumed I voted for without knowing anything about me.”

So she threw a temper tantrum, which she said was due to “frustration of why am I being treated differently?”

Related: Michaels Manager Gets $32K For Suffering Wrath Of Racist Homophobe Jennifer Boyle

And as for mocking a gay coffee shop employee in Boystown, Boyle says “I do not believe that I have an issue dealing with my anger. … What people don’t know is what was said to me at Peet’s.”

Boyle says she regrets screaming at the employees, but maintains that she is a victim of discrimination.

“Looking at it now, I think [walking away] would have been the right thing to do,” she says. “I really believe that it was fight or flight kicked in and I felt that I needed to defend myself.”

Related: The year’s most deplorable and bigoted outbursts caught on camera

She adds: “I wish I would have just been above, cooler heads prevail, been above reproach and would have just left and called corporate like I did do on Friday.”

She concluded by saying she’s a “work in progress” and that she’s going to try really, really hard not to scream at people in public anymore.

“We’re all human and I really believe that being above reproach is the way to be from now on,” she says.

You can watch the interview here if you just can’t get enough.

Don't forget to share:

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated