Local actor Tina Redman accuses Dis-Chem of racially profiling them

Tina Redman says they were accused of stealing false lashes. Picture: Twitter/@@TinaRedman1

Tina Redman says they were accused of stealing false lashes. Picture: Twitter/@@TinaRedman1

Published Mar 9, 2023

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South African actor Tina Redman has publicly shamed Dis-Chem for allegedly racially profiling them.

Last week, Redman took to Twitter to share their experience at Neighbourhood Square, where they were accused of stealing false lashes.

“Just got racially profiled @Dischem Neighbourhood Square-multiple people forcibly took me to the back, frisked me (despite refusing to search my white partner), falsely accused me of stealing fake eyelashes & then refused to show me the footage that apparently incriminated me,” wrote Redman.

They added: “Even after the search, the person who claimed to have seen me (in person & on the security camera!) stealing the eyelashes and chucking the box down refused to apologise or acknowledge the mistake. No remorse or concern for the distress this caused me.”

— Tina Redman (@TinaRedman1) March 5, 2023

Redman finished the Twitter thread by saying the store manager claimed it wasn’t a racial thing even though they (Redman) were the only black person in the store and didn’t go to the cosmetics area.

A day later Redman published an update, saying the security at Dis-Chem phoned to say they made a mistake.

When Redman requested that Dis-Chem give her a written apology, they were told it was against company policy to do so.

In response to the tweets, Dis-Chem said it does not discriminate by race, nor does it condone racism.

“We trust that our store manager has been in contact with you. We wanted to advise that the security in our stores is owned and operated by an independent company. The matter has been escalated to the senior management of this company for a thorough investigation,” said Dis-Chem.

Tweeps have since accused Dis-Chem of being unprofessional by blaming the security they hired instead of taking accountability.

“This entire situation is odious @Dischem. DO BETTER. The very LEAST you can do is take being called out on the chin and give a written apology. Blaming your 3rd party security company is just slimy,” commented @mymumcallsmegus.

Below are more reactions from tweeps.

— Ntandokazi (@Mka_Mgazi) March 6, 2023

Dis-Chem had not responded to IOL’s request for comment by the time of publication.