A Starbucks employee filmed ranting furiously at a customer after allegedly being “misgendered” has been sacked, the coffee giant has confirmed.

In a statement to The Epoch Times, Starbucks said the transgender employee’s contract had been “terminated” following an investigation into the incident, which went viral on social media.

Footage of the altercation, which took place at Starbucks’s 23.5 Degrees-run store in Town Quay, Southampton, showed the employee demanding that the woman leave the coffee shop after accusing her of being transphobic.

The barista, who is standing next to the woman as she waits for her order, said the customer called the barista “a man.”

The woman continuously denies being transphobic before the staff member begins clapping in her face and ordering her to leave the shop while referring to her as “Karen.”

Accusing her of “trespassing,” the Starbucks employee tells the customer she is not entitled to a refund before urging her again to leave the store.

The barista then approaches a passerby filming the incident outside before attempting to grab the man’s mobile phone, demanding that he hand it over.

The short clip, believed to have been recorded more than a week ago, surfaced on Twitter on Sunday where it has been viewed more than 2 million times.

Furious social media users called for Starbucks to sack the employee, with TV personality Oli London writing, “Is this an acceptable way for staff to behave @StarbucksUK ?”

There were also calls for protests at the Southampton cafe by women’s rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker.

Responding to the footage, Keen-Minshull wrote on Twitter: “Which branch is this? We should all go.”

In a statement to The Epoch Times on Monday, a Starbucks spokesperson said: “We have no tolerance for behaviour of this kind and we are very sorry for the experience that this customer had at our 23.5 Degrees run store in Town Quay, Southampton.

“After a full investigation, the partner [employee] was terminated with immediate effect.”

Hampshire Police confirmed it had not received any reports regarding the incident.

As part of its strict diversity policy, Starbucks says it seeks out employees—referred to as “partners”—“who are as diverse as the communities we serve.”

The company’s website also states employees should “act with a spirit of kinship, tolerance and humanity toward all customers making our brand welcoming to everyone.”

In 2018 the coffee giant became the first company in the world to cover the cost of gender reassignment surgeries for transgender employees.

The company said it was working with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to come up with a new health care plan for staff members.

In a statement at the time, Vice President of Benefits at Starbucks, Ron Crawford, said the decision was driven “by the company’s desire to provide truly inclusive coverage, and by powerful conversations with transgender [employees] about how those benefits would allow them to truly be who they are.”

He added: “Nobody else is doing this. We would love to see more employers doing this.”

The chain has offered employees insurance that covers procedures since 2012, but the newly drafted plan will cover procedures for American transgender employees that were previously thought to be “cosmetic.”

Employees seeking such procedures would be able to claim for breast augmentation or reduction surgery, facial feminisation, and hair transplants, Starbucks said at the time.

Starbucks was the first company in the world to ask WPATH to help translate their recommended standards of care into a medical benefits policy, said Jamison Green, the immediate past president of WPATH, who worked with the company on the benefits package.

“Starbucks was not afraid to ask all the right questions and demand that people get the best possible care,” Green said in a Starbucks press statement at the time.

“We produced a list of the most crucial benefits and those that are deemed problematic to insurance companies, such as facial feminization and electrolysis.”

Many procedures considered cosmetic aren’t optional for trans people, Green said, but are essential in their quest to be who they are. Something like electrolysis can be “a life-saving procedure for trans women,” he said.

Tate Buhrmester, one of the company’s transgender employees based in the United States, said the company’s actions were “lifesaving.”

“Starbucks is taking a stand and standing up for trans people and saying that our procedures aren’t just cosmetic—they are lifesaving. They’re affirming” Buhrmester said.

“They’re vitally important to trans people and it’s not something just to be seen as a cosmetic procedure that’s optional, because for a lot of people, it’s not optional for them.”