The Chicago woman seen on viral video going on a racially charged tirade at a Michaels arts and crafts store spoke out Tuesday, defending her actions in the face of what she says was the "discrimination" she faced, leading her to call black employees "animals" and to scream, "I voted for Trump!"
“This wasn’t about race, this was not about political views; this was about very poor customer service and being told to leave without warning,” Jennifer Boyle told NBC 5 in an exclusive interview that aired Tuesday.
Boyle made national headlines in November after she was seen lashing out at a cashier who had charged her $1 for a reusable bag she wanted to get for free. Boyle then went on a tirade against several black employees, accusing them of discriminating against her because she voted for President-elect Donald Trump.
As NBC notes, Boyle accused an employee of mumbling that she must have voted for Trump, although the employee is heard in the video denying that claim.
“And I voted for Trump, so there,” Boyle can be heard saying in the footage. “What? You want to kick me out because of that? And look who won. Look who won.”
In her interview Tuesday, Boyle explained: “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.”
Boyle said she was frustrated over being treated differently, and insisted that she didn't actually call the employee an animal, but that she had instead said that the employee was "screaming at her like an animal."
Since the footage has aired, Boyle said that she has been attacked on social media and called "racist" and "unhinged" for her tirade. Looking back, Boyle said, she regrets not leaving the store before launching into her verbal assault.
“Looking at it now, I think that would have been the right thing to do,” she said. “I really believe that it was fight or flight kicked in, and I felt that I needed to defend myself.”
She refuses to apologize and insists she was not racist.
“I believe that I stood up for myself,” she said. “Again, everybody is a work in progress. We’re all human, and I really believe that being above reproach is the way to be from now on.
“There’s not one bone in my body that’s racist or homophobic,” she added. “And that’s the bottom line.”
She called the backlash from the video "very scary" and "very difficult." Her address, cellphone number and email address were published online, and she said she has since been on the receiving end of lewd calls, vulgar emails and death threats.
The Michaels video was not the first time Boyle was caught ranting. A similar video showed another verbal altercation at a Peet's Coffee just months earlier.
“Oh my God, you’re a floor manager and you call people a bitch, you’re a bitch,” Boyle is seen in that footage shouting. “I was treated like crap, Bobby.”
However, in response Tuesday, Boyle said that there is no pattern in her behavior and she doesn't suffer from anger issues.
"I do not believe that I have an issue dealing with my anger," she said. "I believe that, again, taking the high road and walking away from situations in that matter. What people don’t know is what was said to me at Peet’s."
Boyle claimed that an employee called her a "basic white bitch."
Boyle told the news station that she had not reached out, or thought about reaching out, to employees at either Michaels or Peet's.
Read more at NBC 5.