An alleged journalist named David Leavitt took to Twitter on Friday to announce that he had called the police on a Target store manager named Tori for refusing to sell him an Oral-B electric toothbrush for one penny. Leavitt then threatened to take Target to court. Conservatives rallied to Tori’s defense on the #TargetTori hashtag and raised $28,000 to send her on a vacation.
Leavitt is threatening to sue Target for not honoring what appears to be a $0.01 price tag for a display model Oral-B toothbrush. Leavitt — who added that he had called the police the store manager named Tori, whose picture he included in the social media post, has fallen under scrutiny on social media by Twitter users who are appalled with his behavior.
“This [Target] manager Tori is not honoring the price of their items per Massachusetts law,” tweeted Leavitt on Friday.
“I just had to call the police because [Target] Refused to sell me the toothbrush,” he added.
Leavitt, who claims in his Twitter bio to be an “award-winning multi-media journalist,” had also taken a photo of the store manager, which he shared with his more than 211,000 Twitter followers.
“I did not call 911,” clarified Leavitt in an additional tweet. “I called the business number for the police and told them it was not an emergency and they could take their time and explained the situation.”
“The police verified [Target] displayed the price of toothbrush for $0.01,” he continued. “The store manager Tori refused to sell me the toothbrush for displayed price.”
“The police said I need to sue them and that they are making me a verified report take to court,” he added.
“Corporations like [Target] are not above the law,” continued Leavitt. “The police officer told me they’d testify that they saw the price and that the manager wouldn’t sell me the item for the price listed.”
“I have not been able to afford to go to a dentist in over three years,” claimed Leavitt in another tweet. “So yes I wanted a good toothbrush and was thrilled to see such an amazing prize on an [Oral-B] but [Target] refused to honor it and now I have to take them to court.”
Leavitt’s tweet soon went viral, but the vast majority of users on social media seemed to react in utter disgust with the man’s behavior as they called for him to delete the photo of the Target store manager.
“Dude, please take her photo down,” tweeted on user. “In what universe do you think it’s ok to shame a woman working at @Target because she didn’t sell you a toothbrush for 1 cent? Calling the cops was bizarre, too. It’s an obvious [labeling] error, she did her job.”
“Leave the girl out of this and take down her picture. You’re a bad person for doing this to her,” said another.
“Delete this, you absolute psychopath,” tweeted a third.
Soon after, the hashtags #TargetTori and #TeamTori began trending on Twitter.
“According to the Code of Massachusetts Regulations 940 3.13(f), Target does not have to honor the listed price if it is the result of a ‘gross error.’ So, you probably shamed Tori over the fact that she did her job correctly. #TeamTori” tweeted one user, correcting Leavitt’s claim.
“This is the textbook definition of being an absolutely terrible customer,” said another. “If you’ve ever worked in retail, you understand. #TeamTori #TargetTori”
“Boy fuck you,” tweeted a third. “So this is why my name is trending. As a fellow Tori who has worked retail I feel her pain and this man looks DUMB tryna get a fucking toothbrush for 1 cent. Get the fuck over yourself. #TeamTori #ToriSquad”
“Everyone who has worked retail has met this man,” noted a fourth individual. “#teamtori”
Target then reacted to Leavitt’s tweet, asking him to direct message the store with his contact information.
“Can we have you please DM us with your name, email, phone number, and the location of the store?” said Target. “Assuming you are referring to the 0.01 on the tag, that also shows display and not the item you are showing with the spider anti-theft device. Can you tell us what the police said?”
“They verified the info was accurate and told me I can take you to court for not honoring the price and are giving me a record that what I said happened happened,” replied Leavitt.
Other users on Twitter responded to Target by urging the store not to comply with Leavitt’s demands, while others pointed out that man is a “professional troll” on social media.
“Hi Target, I spend a lot of money in your stores. I was unfamiliar with this abusive David Leavitt until reading this. If you give him the toothbrush for a penny, please let us know, as I will not frequent your stores anymore. He’s a cruel bully,” tweeted one user.
“He’s dealing with you in bad faith, and everyone knows it,” said another. “Don’t cater to jerks like him and your real customers will respect you for standing up for decency and fairness.”
“He’s a professional troll… don’t give him the satisfaction,” tweeted a third.
Conservative meme-master Carpe Donktum created a GoFundMe for Tori, titled, “Send #TargetTori on a Vacation.” The fundraiser has raised over $28,000 as of early Sunday.
“HUGE UPDATE: I have made contact with #TargetTori, she has received authorization to release 2 photos to verify that we are in contact,” tweeted Carpe Donktum, updating his Twitter followers on Saturday afternoon.
The tweet included two new photos of the smiling store manager, whose name tag had been changed to “#TargetTori.
In one of the photos, Tori held a sign, which read, “Thank you for your kindness!”
“#TargetTori now has SOLE withdrawal access to the account,” added Carpe Donktum in a follow-up tweet. “THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN FOR HER.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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