CHICO, CA – A TikTok video uploaded earlier in December made waves on social media as the video depicts a TikTok content creator berating an elderly Target employee over her wearing a “Freedom” shirt. In response to the reasonable backlash the video garnered, a Gateway Pundit journalist initiated a fundraising campaign to help “do something positive” for the woman harassed by the TikToker, which garnered over $100,000 in one day since being launched.
On December 15th, a since-privated video uploaded to TikTok by 32-year-old Michelea Ponce, who goes by the moniker “motherofballers” on the platform, showcased Ponce filming an elderly Target employee in Chico, California, while asking about her shirt in a hostile manner.
“They let you wear that shirt here,” Ponce asked the elderly woman, who has since been identified as 72-year-old Jeanie, with the Target employee responding that Target generally allows any red shirt to be worn to work. Ponce immediately began cursing at Jeanie after expressing outrage over the fact that the shirt in question was a Charlie Kirk-themed Freedom shirt.
“It’s a Charlie Kirk shirt…are you f*cking stupid? Why the f*ck would you wear that - you’re at work at Target,” Ponce exclaimed to the elderly employee, adding, “That’s not a Target shirt. It’s not a plain red shirt. You support a racist!”
Jeanie denied the claim made by Ponce that Charlie Kirk was a “racist,” which prompted even further abusive rhetoric hurled by the woman filming the video. “You support a racist…yes he is, ye he f*cking is!”
After the second round of expletives launched by Ponce, Jeanie kindly told the woman, “I’m sorry, I’m not going to argue with you,” which led to Ponce demanding “go get your manager,” justifying the demand by adding that Jeanie “should not be allowed to wear that at work.”
Ponce continued on her expletive-laden rant aimed at Jeanie, telling her, “this is going to be taken above your f*cking head” and calling the elderly woman a “piece of sh*t” as she calmy walked away from an irate Ponce.
Considering the display put on by Ponce, who in her original TikTok post tagged Target in the hopes of getting this elderly woman ostensibly fired from her job, Gateway Pundit journalist Cassandra MacDonald, along with other internet sleuths, began a sort of crusade to learn more about Ponce as well as the woman victimized in Ponce’s social media post.
As it turns out, Ponce, who resides in Orland, California, happens to work in healthcare for Enloe Health. The company has since issued a statement regarding the viral video filmed by their employee, noting they’re “deeply concerned” about the conduct Ponce engaged in and have launched an internal investigation into the matter. Enloe Health’s statement also mentioned the involvement of the Chico Police Department, which said agency also issued a public statement regarding the incident.
“The Chico Police Department is aware of a video circulating online depicting a verbal confrontation inside a local business,” the statement from the police department reads, adding, “We are actively investigating the incident with our local partners.”
In the wake of the backlash Ponce received over her social media antics, she has since privated all of her social media accounts. While it would appear the wheels of internet-induced justice are turning as it relates to Ponce, journalist MacDonald still wanted to find a way to reward Jeanie for having to endure such abuse while doing so gracefully.
MacDonald launched a GiveSendGo campaign on December 16th to raise funds for Jeanie, titling the fundraiser in a manner meant to “give Jeanie from Target a vacation.” However, it would appear that the fundraiser benefiting the 72-year-old is more likely slated to become a retirement fund, as the fundraiser has accrued over $130,000 as of this writing after being live for approximately 24 hours.
In a statement provided to Law Enforcement Today about the launched fundraiser, MacDonald noted that while there was a motivation to hold Ponce accountable for her actions depicted in the video, she also wanted to find a way to turn this negative experience into something “positive for Jeanie.”
“While casually scrolling through TikTok yesterday morning, I stumbled upon the original video. It didn't have many views, but the comments were a mixed bag of people laughing and those who were sickened,” MacDonald noted, adding, “I was utterly disgusted by what I saw. Immediately, I gathered all the information I could about the woman's employer and contacted them directly. I knew we could probably get her fired, but only seeking consequences for her actions didn't feel sufficient. We needed to do something positive for Jeanie.”
The remarkable act of collective kindness initiated by MacDonald’s work and launched fundraiser is reminiscent of a prior charitable endeavor she helped launched a decade earlier with the phenomenon known as the “Find the Dancing Man” campaign. After a video posted to 4Chan in March of 2015 making fun of an overweight man harmlessly dancing at a club, who was later identified as Sean O’Brien, MacDonald helped arrange a fundraiser and subsequent star-studded dance party where O’Brien was the guest of honor.
On December 15th, a since-privated video uploaded to TikTok by 32-year-old Michelea Ponce, who goes by the moniker “motherofballers” on the platform, showcased Ponce filming an elderly Target employee in Chico, California, while asking about her shirt in a hostile manner.
“They let you wear that shirt here,” Ponce asked the elderly woman, who has since been identified as 72-year-old Jeanie, with the Target employee responding that Target generally allows any red shirt to be worn to work. Ponce immediately began cursing at Jeanie after expressing outrage over the fact that the shirt in question was a Charlie Kirk-themed Freedom shirt.
“It’s a Charlie Kirk shirt…are you f*cking stupid? Why the f*ck would you wear that - you’re at work at Target,” Ponce exclaimed to the elderly employee, adding, “That’s not a Target shirt. It’s not a plain red shirt. You support a racist!”
Jeanie denied the claim made by Ponce that Charlie Kirk was a “racist,” which prompted even further abusive rhetoric hurled by the woman filming the video. “You support a racist…yes he is, ye he f*cking is!”
After the second round of expletives launched by Ponce, Jeanie kindly told the woman, “I’m sorry, I’m not going to argue with you,” which led to Ponce demanding “go get your manager,” justifying the demand by adding that Jeanie “should not be allowed to wear that at work.”
Ponce continued on her expletive-laden rant aimed at Jeanie, telling her, “this is going to be taken above your f*cking head” and calling the elderly woman a “piece of sh*t” as she calmy walked away from an irate Ponce.
Considering the display put on by Ponce, who in her original TikTok post tagged Target in the hopes of getting this elderly woman ostensibly fired from her job, Gateway Pundit journalist Cassandra MacDonald, along with other internet sleuths, began a sort of crusade to learn more about Ponce as well as the woman victimized in Ponce’s social media post.
As it turns out, Ponce, who resides in Orland, California, happens to work in healthcare for Enloe Health. The company has since issued a statement regarding the viral video filmed by their employee, noting they’re “deeply concerned” about the conduct Ponce engaged in and have launched an internal investigation into the matter. Enloe Health’s statement also mentioned the involvement of the Chico Police Department, which said agency also issued a public statement regarding the incident.
“The Chico Police Department is aware of a video circulating online depicting a verbal confrontation inside a local business,” the statement from the police department reads, adding, “We are actively investigating the incident with our local partners.”
In the wake of the backlash Ponce received over her social media antics, she has since privated all of her social media accounts. While it would appear the wheels of internet-induced justice are turning as it relates to Ponce, journalist MacDonald still wanted to find a way to reward Jeanie for having to endure such abuse while doing so gracefully.
MacDonald launched a GiveSendGo campaign on December 16th to raise funds for Jeanie, titling the fundraiser in a manner meant to “give Jeanie from Target a vacation.” However, it would appear that the fundraiser benefiting the 72-year-old is more likely slated to become a retirement fund, as the fundraiser has accrued over $130,000 as of this writing after being live for approximately 24 hours.
In a statement provided to Law Enforcement Today about the launched fundraiser, MacDonald noted that while there was a motivation to hold Ponce accountable for her actions depicted in the video, she also wanted to find a way to turn this negative experience into something “positive for Jeanie.”
“While casually scrolling through TikTok yesterday morning, I stumbled upon the original video. It didn't have many views, but the comments were a mixed bag of people laughing and those who were sickened,” MacDonald noted, adding, “I was utterly disgusted by what I saw. Immediately, I gathered all the information I could about the woman's employer and contacted them directly. I knew we could probably get her fired, but only seeking consequences for her actions didn't feel sufficient. We needed to do something positive for Jeanie.”
The remarkable act of collective kindness initiated by MacDonald’s work and launched fundraiser is reminiscent of a prior charitable endeavor she helped launched a decade earlier with the phenomenon known as the “Find the Dancing Man” campaign. After a video posted to 4Chan in March of 2015 making fun of an overweight man harmlessly dancing at a club, who was later identified as Sean O’Brien, MacDonald helped arrange a fundraiser and subsequent star-studded dance party where O’Brien was the guest of honor.
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