A woman in New York City, New York, went viral after posting a harsh review of a local coffee shop, only for viewers to notice she appeared to be drinking coffee from a completely different café during the video. Her review backfired, and she was called out by thousands, including both coffee shops, leading her to delete her entire account.
As said above, the original review is not available. However, Kawaii Cafe, the Vietnamese coffee shop that was the target of the allegedly deceptive opinion, reposted it and provided a much-needed breakdown of everything wrong with it. The clip attached above went viral, garnering 2.3 million views, 278,600 likes, and more than 2,500 comments.
The New York woman, whose username was reportedly jetjet239 before she nuked her account, was shown walking down the street holding a cup of coffee. She called the coffee “really horrible” and a “sugar bomb” in her mouth, with “no coffee flavor.”
Cafe Dissects Review
Then Kim Lee, Kawaii Cafe’s owner, responded to the clip, saying they never intended to create drama but rather to set the record straight. The woman said that the coffee shop always welcomes feedback. After all, they are always actively seeking ways to improve their products and services.
However, Kawaii Cafe argued that the review was misleading and did not appear to involve one of its drinks at all. Kim pointed out, from the get-go, that the cup, the designs, and even the straw didn’t match their own. This meant, of course, that the cup was from an entirely different café.
Still, Kim wanted to be 100% sure that this was the case. She reviewed POS transactions, store camera footage, and spoke with members of her staff. Then, after reviewing transaction records and security footage and speaking with staff, Lee said she found no indication that the woman had visited the café.
Reactions
The story quickly became viral, with many other creators reacting to the fake review. Users were harsh on jetjet, calling her out for her deception. One said, “Such a weird thing to do.” Another one commented, “Sue her for defamation! It IS that serious.”
Shockingly, one of the accounts that responded to Kawaii Cafe’s clip was Black Stone Coffee NYC. It appears that this store is where the coffee in jetjet’s hand came from. Black Stone clarified that they were not affiliated with the “reviewer,” adding, “We would never feel the need to bring down another cafe, there is more than enough room for all of us!”
After multiple username changes, jetjet eventually deleted her account. The controversy quickly spread beyond the original review, drawing responses from other creators, competing cafés, and thousands of viewers. It also sparked discussion about the impact online reviews can have on small businesses and the importance of verifying claims before sharing them publicly.
