Starbucks barista draws John Pork meme on LASD officer’s cup. Then they get fired: ‘Cops are so sensitive’
A Starbucks barista got fired for drawing John Pork, a popular meme, on a LASD police officer’s Starbucks cup.
The now-viral story has been discussed by the New York Post, USA Today, and the Los Angeles Times, with more and more content creators clearly identifying the meme and concluding that Starbucks may have misfired when letting go of its employee. One such creator, Kayla Jade (@kjadeg), posted about the story to TikTok in a video that’s gotten over 352,000 views.
In her comments section and across social media, thousands have come forward to question Starbucks’s decision to let an employee go over something that many assumed was drawn in advance. The employee, based on some viewers’ accounts, may not have even known that the drawing was for a police officer to begin with.
But it’s still earned some controversy. Many commenters considered it a miscommunication and a fireable offense, leading to the ‘firing.’
What exactly happened with ‘John Pork’ at Starbucks
Deputy Brandon Langoria of the LASD stopped at a Starbucks located at Firestone Boulevard and Pioneer Boulevard in Norwalk for coffee on Jan. 9. He had just worked a 16-hour shift and needed a pick-me-up. But when he turned his cup, he saw a pig looking back at him.
It doesn’t appear as though Longoria knew what the John Pork meme was. Instead, he saw it as a personal dig. But Longoria later posted on his social media, calling the situation “discouraging and disrespectful.” He immediately reported it to store employees, who apparently took swift action to resolve the situation. Starbucks then let go of the worker who gave him the cup.
Starbucks’ director of Global Communications, Jaci Anderson, said, “This was unacceptable. We have reached out to the customer several times and to leaders in the Sheriff’s Department to apologize.”
What is ‘John Pork’?
John Pork is a meme that was created in 2018 but popularized in 2023, reflecting Gen-Z “brain-rot” humor. The meme in question is an image of an anthropomorphic pig wearing a flannel long-sleeve and a heather gray t-shirt. The strange-looking pig-creature became popular due to its somewhat human-like appearance, spawning “John Pork is calling you” posts that are still reposted to this day.
These posts feign receiving a call from ‘John Pork.’ They usually have a description or caption that asks, “Is this real?” There’s not really an explanation as to why they are funny, other than some of them have some level of absurdism.
The Starbucks barista who was fired clearly drew this meme, as reported by multiple publications. They included the “accept” and “decline” options that most “John Pork is calling you” posts feature. They also managed to capture the meme to a degree that it was recognizable, even without other key characteristics.
Why did the cup go out to Longoria?
In 2024 and 2025, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol introduced a variety of changes to the company. One of those changes was to reintroduce employees writing personalized messages on cups for customers. Niccol wanted to get the coffee chain back to its “community coffeehouse roots,” but in doing so, he ended up creating complications for employees trying to get orders out as quickly as possible.
For that reason, some Starbucks employees write on the cups they send out in advance. That way, they have a surplus of options to send out to customers and don’t have to waste time drawing something for a guest. Reports from articles like Fox Business have confirmed that the cup was drawn on earlier in the day, so the John Pork meme was most likely not handed out with any malicious intent.
But, Starbucks does outright ban baristas from drawing animals and pop-culture references on cups. Starbucks employees at the location reportedly stated that the cup was never meant to go to customers, and instead, a barista mistakenly gave Longoria the drink.
How did audiences react to the Starbucks situation?
Ultimately, audiences were surprised that the company took swift and decisive action to let go of its employee, especially because it appeared the incident was a mistake.
Some commenters, however, thought the situation was intentional. “Tbh I think it was intentional. They stopped allowing animals last summer for this reason. They probably thought they were being slick,” said one viewer on Kayla Jade’s post.
“I can see both sides. The John Pork reference is funny but you also can’t expect everyone to understand a meme reference,” said another commenter. “[The employee] probably should’ve chosen a different one and he was probably overreacting.”
This isn’t the first time that Starbucks employees have gotten in trouble due to the cup-message policy. Previously, a Starbucks employee was ‘canceled’ for refusing to write Charlie Kirk’s name on an order. In that circumstance, a woman urged the employee to place his name on a mint majesty tea with two honeys — Kirk’s order. When the employee refused, the customer posted the situation to social media.
One commenter referenced this situation, stating that the employee was allegedly fired for not writing Charlie Kirk on the cup.
Ultimately, many viewers are advocating for Starbucks to outright ban writing on the cups, as it seemingly overcomplicates orders and creates risks for the company that are needless.
@kjadeg LAPD beefing with Pork #johnpork #starbucks #drama #police #fypシ゚viral ♬ original sound – kayla jade?
We’ve reached out to Starbucks press line via email, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department via email, and Kayla Jade via TikTok direct message for comment.
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