Trinity Bethune would like everyone to know that her name is, in fact, Trinity Bethune.
WTVD in Durham reports that the 21-year-old purchased her first car at Lumberton Honda on Wednesday. Her excitement was quickly doused the next day after seeing a photo of her that the dealership posted on its Facebook page.
The caption read “Congratulations to Bon Quisha on her 2016 Toyota Camry.” As that cartoon skunk that has since been cancelled would say, le sigh.
From WTVD:
Bethune, in shock and disbelief, responded to the post.
“I’m not sure if this is a ‘joke’ or something but my name is definitely Trinity Bethune,” she said. “I’m very offended by this post, it’s almost a racial slur. If I’m not addressed by MY name then please don’t address me at all.”
Bethune says the post was up for more than an hour before it was deleted. The screenshots quickly spreading on social media and went viral on TikTok.
The dealership apologized for the post on Friday, saying in part that the employee responsible for it doesn’t work there anymore and that “this incident reminds us that there is always room for improvement.” According to WTVD, the dealership’s owner said they reached out to Bethune personally to apologize.
Real talk, how much “improvement” does someone need in order to avoid using tired stereotypes on public, professional social media pages? You could just very easily not do it, which, trust me, makes life a lot easier for everyone.
The employee who wrote the caption made a choice to type out “Bon Quisha.” They knew what image it would present of Bethune. This was further illustrated by the Raleigh News & Observer, which reported that Facebook users were quick to point out that an older post on the dealership’s page congratulating a white couple for their purchase managed to get their names right.
Either way, Bethune told WTVD that she is considering taking some form of legal action against the dealership.