Overview

The Racist Cinnabon Employee Controversy or "Cinnabon Girl" Crystal Wilsey, also known as the Cinnabon Lady or Cinnabon Karen, refers to discourse surrounding a viral public freakout video of an employee at a Cinnabon restaurant in Wisconsin, Crystal Wilsey, calling two Somalian Muslim customers the N-word and making obscene gestures at them while on the job. In the video, uploaded by TikTokers @skylight7373 and @dailypaypis in early December 2025, she admits to being racist, calls them the N-word several times and flips them off. Purportedly, the incident started when one customer asked for more caramel on their order. Wilsey was ultimately fired over the incident.

As the clip went viral, Wilsey garnered support from some online users who believed that her actions towards the customers were justified, resulting in Wilsey raising over $160,000 on the Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo in three weeks. Wilsey's alleged criminal past also resurfaced online via the New York Post, most notably revealing charges for child endangerment, disorderly conduct and drug possession. Later in December 2025, police bodycam footage of the incident was released, where Wilsey is seen claiming that she has PTSD and that the customers harassed and threatened her first, but saying she "doesn't know" how they threatened her.

Background

On December 6th, 2025, TikTokers^[1][2] @skylight7373 and @dailypaypis posted identical videos of an employee at a Cinnabon in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, later identified as Crystal Wilsey, making obscene gestures at them, being racist towards them and calling them the N-word. Purportedly, the uploaders had problems with their videos being muted for the language used, forcing them to cut down and edit the clips.

In the video, Wilsey admits that she is racist, gives the customers the middle finger and makes obscene gestures at them. The upload by @dailypaypis claims that Wilsey disrespected one of their hijabs and that the incident started after they asked for more caramel. Purportedly, Wilsey was fired from her job at Cinnabon over the video.

The video spread quickly, along with support among some for Wilsey. For example, that same day, X^[3] user @Tomhennessey69 reposted the original, uncensored version, writing, "Patriots, another hero has emerged," garnering over 17,000 likes in three weeks.

Developments

Response From Crystal Wilsey

On December 7th, 2025, Crystal Wilsey, the Cinnabon employee, posted a video on her TikTok^[4] account, @geniusvue, where she shares an old video she recorded at Cinnabon with a voice message recorded over it. In the post, she denies being racist, saying that she has a "blended family" and that her son "was" Black, garnering over 800,000 views in three weeks.

Alleged Criminal Record

On December 8th, the New York Post^[5] published an article covering Crystal Wilsey's response. In the article, the NY Post reported that Wilsey has a criminal past that includes charges of child endangerment, drug possession, disorderly conduct and traffic offenses. A screenshot of her alleged page for her child endangerment arrest on RecentlyBooked started circulating online around this time, although the page no longer appears to be available on the website.

GiveSendGo Funding

A GiveSendGo^[6] page was started by Tom Hennessey, the X user who shared the video with the caption, "Patriots, another hero has emerged," to raise funds for Wilsey. Wilsey gained over $160,400 in funding in roughly three weeks.

Police Bodycam Footage

On December 29th, 2025, TMZ^[7] released police bodycam footage on YouTube^[8] of an interaction between Wilsey and the police taken shortly after the viral video.

In the video, Wilsey is seen defending herself, claiming she has PTSD and that the customers harassed her first. She is unable to explain to the officer how they started it, and acts short with the police. The police officer threatens to arrest her for being uncooperative. She claims that the officer was sent because of someone named "Tom Band," who the officer claims to know nothing about.

Footage is then shown of the customers explaining their side of the story, claiming that the incident started when they asked for more caramel on one of the items they ordered. According to one customer, Wilsey made a remark to them about "witchcraft," which they took as racist, leading to the incident in the viral video.

Online Presence / Reactions

In the aftermath of the incident, Crystal Wilsey continued to post content on her TikTok^[9] page, @geniusvue, including numerous product review videos.

On December 26th, 2025, X^[10] user @patriottakes posted a screenshot from the viral video next to one of Wilsey reviewing a solar power bank, writing, "The fired Cinnabon employee who was rewarded financially by MAGA donors after going on a racist tirade has been posting bizarre product reviews videos for all the stuff she has been buying. This is Trump’s America," garnering over 3,100 likes in four days.

On December 29th, X^[11] user @insatiablevine posted screenshots from the viral video, writing, "We’re all the Cinnabon Girl Now," garnering over 8,900 likes in a day. The post was purportedly made following the release of Nick Shirley's Somali daycare fraud video.

Search Interest

External References