Gisele Barreto Fetterman, the wife of a prominent Pennsylvania politician, was verbally abused by a woman in the parking lot of a local Aldi market and posted a video of the incident to Twitter on Sunday.
Brazilian-born Fetterman is married to Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. Gisele Fetterman was reportedly shopping at Aldi when she was repeatedly accosted by the woman in who appears in the video. “There’s that n-word that Fetterman married. You don’t belong here. No one wants you here. You don’t belong here,” Fetterman said, recounting the woman’s comments in an interview with The Washington Post.
*TRIGGER WARNING* I love love love this country but we are so deeply divided. I ran to the local grocery store and was met by and verbally assaulted by this woman who repeatedly told me I do not belong here. The confrontation continued into the parking lot where I was able to pic.twitter.com/kzSoxCVJ2x
— Gisele Barreto Fetterman (@giselefetterman) October 11, 2020
“The fact that she was so comfortable and bold to just do it to my face with an audience… that was really scary,” Fetterman told the Post. The grocery store released a statement condemning the woman’s behavior, reported The Hill.
“We were saddened to hear about the incident that occurred with Pennsylvania’s Second Lady, Gisele Barreto Fetterman,” the statement reportedly read. “We are appalled by the behavior of the offending customer and she is no longer welcome to shop at ALDI.”
“To be clear, that customer’s actions do not represent ALDI or anyone associated with our company. We are reaching out to the Second Lady today to reiterate our stance, and ensure she feels safe and welcome in our stores anytime,” the statement continued, per The Hill. (RELATED: Hawley, Sasse Unleash On Harris, Democrats, Media For Treatment Of Barrett)
Democratic state Sen. Bob Casey tweeted his support of Fetterman, writing that she was a subject of “a racial slur and taunts,” and that “[i]t’s on us to teach our children kindness, acceptance and inclusion, and condemn hate whenever and wherever we see it.”