One man is eating his words after a social media firestorm .
Chuck DeGrendel, co-owner of Ava Lane Boutique in Michigan, accidentally sent a rude email to the wrong person.
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The recipient just so happened to be Gracie Lorincz, a 21-year-old recent college graduate who applied for a position with his company.
Cue the drama and the internet’s brutal takedown!
Recently, Gracie took to TikTok to share her side of the story.
In the now-viral video, she shared that she had applied for a job with the beauty boutique as a brand representative.
The brand’s motto, “beauty through confidence” was put into question with what happened next.
She received an email from Chuck that was supposed to be sent to his wife and store co-owner, Laura DeGrendel.
It read: “This girl is fresh out of college (Hope College) and not that cute. She applied to the sales model position. Are you sure you want me to interview her?”
Gracie looked upset as she repeated Chuck’s words — “not that cute” — about her appearance.
Since posting the video, it’s been viewed more than two million times. The recent college grad thankfully received plenty of supportive messages in the comments.
“I actually think you’re v cute if my opinion counts for anything,” wrote one user.
“You are beautiful, no matter what Chuck says,” wrote the official TikTok account for the Detroit Lions. Some couldn’t believe that those words came from the co-owners husband.
The internet soon took it upon itself to flood the company’s Google reviews with negative reviews and comments.
This forced Chuck to delete his own LinkedIn page after people started attacking him on that.
People also took to the company’s app reviews on the Google Play Page.
“Clothes ‘aren’t too cute’ and the app asks for far too many permissions. Also, if you want to demonstrate your ‘true’ core values, apologize to the young lady at least,” one user wrote.
“As far as we know there has been zero contact made. Refusing to reach out to her only supports the poor public image you’ve curated,” they continued .
Since the feedback was so negative, the company made their Instagram and Facebook group private.
DeGrendel has since made a tearful apology video on Facebook Live video.
“I sent a reply back to Laura that said that she was a recent college grad, and I didn’t feel that she was that cute,” Chuck began in the video.
“So I wasn’t sure if we wanted to proceed with an interview,” he continued.
“I sent a reply back to Laura that said that she was a recent college grad, and I didn’t feel that she was that cute, so I wasn’t sure if we wanted to proceed with an interview.”
He went on to say that he doesn’t “know why I said that,” but that he did and that he’s “very, very sorry for saying that.”
He called it “very unprofessional and really not in line with our core values here, or my core values in general.”
Chuck’s wife, Laura, was also in the apology video.
According to the Post , she claimed that their family’s phone numbers and address had been shared and that their children were receiving death threats.
While some people have accepted Chuck’s apology, Gracie’s Lorincz’s mother, Heather Lorincz, told Fox News that her daughter is still hurt by his words.
“She is a sweet kid, she is not an attention hog, she is not a social media personality and didn’t anticipate what this turned into,” Heather said.
“I don’t want this woman’s business to suffer. I don’t. But I feel my daughter deserves a real apology, not a Facebook Live.”
Watch the video and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
