July 8, 2020
CARMEL VALLEY, California. Gennica Cochran was the waitress who immediately went into action and kicked out Michael Lofthouse from Bernardus Lodge on the 4th of July for his racial rant against the Chan family while they were celebrating a birthday.
The now-viral video shows Cochran walk into frame as soon as Lofthouse said “You Asian piece of sh*t,” to the Chan family. “Get out of here! Get out! You do not talk to our guests like that! Get out! They are valued guests, you are not allowed here ever again!” Cochran replied back.
Cochran wasn’t the waitress who served Lofthouse or the Chan family that day, but she kept her eye on Lofthouse all night. That’s because Lofthouse apparently switched tables multiple times, sent back food to the kitchen a few times, and was even rude to the Bernardus Lodge manager. But the final straw was when he racially insulted the Chan family.
“To hear the emotion coming out of my voice, to see my mannerisms, it was unbelievable it was just something that came over me and I just did what needed to be done,” Cochran stated to ABC7 News. “I did what anybody else should or would do in that situation.”
Cochran has been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years and a yoga instructor for 10 years.
“I felt very protective of them,” Cochran stated. “You don’t come in here and say those kinds of things to people. Especially people feel so raw coming out of quarantine. Most of these people this is the first time that they’ve been out to dinner and then you have someone attacking them it was just no, no, I don’t have time for this.”
Cochran has a message for the Chan family: “I love you. I’ve got your back always. I will always speak up for you and please come back to Bernardus, I’d love to buy you a drink. And please just know that those words are not the values of the people that live here on the Monterey Peninsula.”
There are at least three separate GoFundMe pages that were created on Cochran’s behalf. People have been donating money and the amount is growing towards six figures.
- A Big Tip for an Everyday Hero
- Tips for Gennica Standing Up To Racist Kevin
- Give the waitress at Lucia a tip!
Feature Screenshots via ABC7 News & GoFundMe