A simple “outfit of the day” clip outside a cafe spiraled into a viral firestorm. Zauria Thomas was on a simple outing and wanted to get a cute shot. But when a small business owner intervened, it ended up in a huge TikTok outrage and even death threats. TikToker Zauria Thomas set up her phone on a patio table outside Fiore Cafe in Fort Worth with a Dunkin’ drink in hand. She had a simple goal: to film an OOTD clip. But what should’ve been a light-morning social post quickly transformed into a full-blown viral controversy. Moments in, the cafe’s owner stepped out and asked, “You’re doing an ad for Dunkin’ Donuts outside my store?” But she didn’t make much of it and immediately apologised. “Well, I guess this turned into a vlog of me trying Fiore Cafe, so come on in,” she told her followers. The creator laughed it off, entered the cafe, bought a Danish, and assumed it would end there. But it didn’t. Since she still had her Dunkin’ cup, the cafe owner told her, “We don’t do outside drinks in here,” and kicked her out. Despite that, she tried the Danish drink and even said it was 9/10. @zzzauria honestly she ate me up Danish was a 9/10 tho! #fiorecafe#dfw#howawkward ♬ GO! – Instrumental – Common While Thomas took the whole thing lightly, people who watched the video didn’t. They believed the owner was rude and even said they would never visit the place. But the harmless comments soon turned into a backlash, prompting the cafe to release a statement regarding the incident. “We’re aware of a recent viral video that’s brought a lot of unexpected attention to our cafe. Unfortunately, the response online has led to a wave of false reviews, hurtful comments, and even threats directed at our team.” They reported receiving a wave of threats, false reviews, and harassment toward staff. “We’d never want anyone to feel unwelcome here,” they said, saddened that less than 10 seconds of video brought hateful opinions. The owner also apologised for their “tone or words,” clarifying that they came across differently than intended. @zzzauria Ironically ended up being an ad for @Dunkin’ literally just wanted to show my fit Thank you to everyone who said it was cute! I’m sorry this video was so long but always remember to be kind please because you never know what someone is going through booktok- @24timetoupthescore Black romance book club- @onyxromancesociety ♬ original sound – Zauria However, they also defended their staff, explaining that they “simply reminded the customer of our no outside food or drink policy.” The cafe is family-run, and requested that people “remember there are real people behind small businesses.” The statement quickly caught attention, and Thomas responded with humility and regret. “I was on her property. They had a little patio area right outside of the cafe, and I set my phone up on the table and was standing in front of it… They did reach out to me, and they have been saying that they have been receiving death threats. I do want to say, I don’t condone that at all.” She apologized, acknowledged that her move to record with a Dunkin’ cup outside a small business was tone-deaf, and urged her followers to stop harassing the cafe. Recalling the kicking-out incident, she clarified that the staff offered her the option to stay until she finishes her Danish, but she didn’t initially hear that. “I didn’t hear that until post. I was like, Oh my gosh, she did say that.” At the end of the day, the cafe staff were simply doing their morning shift, and the creator wasn’t plotting drama; she just wanted a cute shot. But a moment between the two exploded into threats and harassment. What was planned as a cute post ended up as a cautionary tale for creators, small-business owners, and everyone else.