FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The audio clip is tough to hear. It involves a dispute over a parking space in a Marina Mile plaza where a business owner was apparently trying to keep spots clear for his customers at Apollo Lighting.
The man’s rant toward a Black woman includes the N-word repeated four times, plus other profanity.
The incident was recorded two years ago, but it’s just now going viral on social media, after R&B singer Trey Songz posted it to his 12.1 million Instagram followers Wednesday night.
[Warning: Language in the post below is offensive]
Brandi Porter, the co-owner of Apollo Lighting and whose husband John is the man heard on the recording, says they’re now getting death threats.
“[People are] threatening employees, telling them they’re gonna kill us, they’re gonna shoot us, they’re gonna blow our business up,” she said. “We’re not racist people.”
She claims the unidentified woman heard in the clip also hurled nasty things.
“I don’t condone using the N-word by any means, and I know I’ve spoken to John and he’s apologetic and wishes it never happened,” Brandi Porter said. “But, like I said, there’s two sides to every story and I don’t think we’re getting a fair treatment at all.”
The business has since been inundated with negative reviews on Yelp, Facebook and Google.
“I just deleted our accounts, because I don’t know what else to do,” Brandi Porter said.
She hopes her company’s reputation will speak for itself.
“I’m not racist. I have employees of all nationalities, honestly, all nationalities,” she said. “I do business with all nationalities.”
Law enforcement was called out to the scene of the incident two years ago at the business on State Road 84, but Local 10 is told that no charges were filed.