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Singer Kehlani goes viral for keeping cool during a verbal confrontation with influencer at Starbucks

The singer defended her interaction with conservative influencer Christian Walker in a later video.
Kehlani performs onstage at IN BLOOM on July 10, 2022 in New York.
Kehlani performs onstage at IN BLOOM on July 10, 2022 in New York.Craig Barritt / Getty Images for Grey Goose Essences file

After a verbal altercation in a Starbucks drive-thru, singer Kehlani and influencer Christian Walker are going viral.

The “Altar” singer, who uses the pronouns she/they, began trending on Wednesday after a run-in with a conservative influencer by the name of Christian Walker. The Youtuber, whose father is former NFL player Herschel Walker, recorded and shared a video of himself confronting the singer at their car in the middle of a Starbucks drive-thru in Los Angeles.

“Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and you’re so rude, or you wouldn’t be telling barista workers that I’m an a--h---,” Walker says with a raised voice at the start of the video. “Ma’am. Ma’am. You don’t need to tell baristas that I’m an a--h--- because I have an opinion. Get your drink and go away,”

“Why are you entitled to an opinion and not me? You want to tell baristas that I’m an a--h---?”

Smiling and without raising their voice, Kehlani replies, “Yeah, I’m telling them to be mindful—”

Before they finish speaking, Walker cuts the singer off, insisting, “Well guess what? You’re the a--h---.”

Walker's video did not come with a backstory or an explanation as to why he believed the singer might have described him in a disparaging way to the baristas at Starbucks.

According to Billboard, in a since-deleted TikTok video the singer offered more insight into what might have caused Walker to get so upset.

“I wasn’t gonna address it, but I think we should tell the truth,” they explained, according to Billboard. “I know you’ve all seen the video by now, let’s talk about it.”

Billboard reports that the singer said they saw Walker becoming outraged over a set of Pride flags that were displayed at the Starbucks, and saw him beginning to use his phone to record videos of the workers and the Pride flags.

A self-made video of Walker shared from another account on TikTok shows him worked up and irate as he speaks about the Pride flags and how they are still on display after Pride Month.

“I’m going to ask them if they need me to frickin’ deliver an American flag," he appears to say.

In their own video, Kehlani said called Walker “that Republican Trump supporter kid,” and said she saw him getting worked up behind her in line and warned the workers at the drive-thru.

“They were like, ‘Yeah, I know that kid.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s a f---king a--h---,’ because I’ve just watched him be an a--h--- for the last 10 minutes,” Kehlani said in the video, which has been viewed by TODAY.

After the confrontation, Walker took to Twitter, where he shared the experience with his followers.

“This mediocre singer that everyone’s forgotten about, Kehlani, told my baristas at Starbucks that I was an ‘a**hole’ and to be ‘safe around me.’ Well, I set her straight,” Walker said. “I’m tired of these fake woke people being rude to everyone and acting like they’re the good ones.”

In response to the Twitter post, Kehlani shared screenshots of Walker’s video on their Instagram story, which highlighted their reaction and cool demeanor. In one story, they quipped, “gotta let fools, fool.”

As of Thursday night, Walker has not responded to a request for comment from TODAY regarding the encounter.

In addition to being a former NFL player, Walker’s father, Herschel Walker, is currently the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia. Both father and son have endorsed former President Donald Trump in the past.

On his platform, Christian Walker often expresses his conservative beliefs. In the past, he has described President Joe Biden as “dementia Joe,” compared George Floyd to Kyle Rittenhouse, and made light of stereotypes around Black people in relationship to politician Stacey Abrams.