Hollywood Costume Designer Loses Her Job After Racist Rant At Los Angeles CVS Store

Being drunk doesn't make you racist.

Hollywood Costume Designer Loses Her Job After Racist Rant At Los Angeles CVS Store getty
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"Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful," sang the legendary Stevie Wonder. Who is Heather Patton? Well, one thing is for sure, she's neither of those things! Heather drove into a CVS parking lot, went inside and began to verbally attack a woman with racist hate speech. She has claimed via Instagram that she was intoxicated, but it's funny how many people I know who get drunk and high and DON'T become giant garbage piles. Check out the facts for yourself and decide whether or not you think Heather deserves the second chance she's asking for (spoiler alert: it's not her second chance, it's like her 80th). 

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1. Meet Heather Patton 

Things are not looking great for Heather Lynn Patton. This Los Angeles resident was caught on tape dishing out a crazed and crazily racist tirade at a black woman at a CVS Pharmacy in her Eagle Rock neighborhood. This being 2019, you can't exactly do stuff like that and not expect to be called out on it, both in public and on social media — and thank God for that! The woman who was the victim of the tirade dug out her camera and started recording Heather the instant she started jumping up and down and declaring that she wanted to "kill black people." 

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2. Adrene Ashford: The Victim

The woman who recorded the encounter, Adrene Ashford, said that Patton approached her totally unprovoked in the CVS and began verbally attacking her and screaming her. Stunned, Adrene reports that she took her phone out and began to record the encounter because she wanted to make sure that she had a record to share with the police. In the video, Patton screams, "I hate n*ggers." Adrene asks her if she is on any sort of illegal substance Patton doubles down in video and replies saying, "No, I just hate n*iggers," as Adrene continued her recording. 

3. The Police Response 

Adrene did her due diligence, and reported the attack and the hate speech to the LAPD, who told her that she could expect to hear from them in about 5 days, but took no immediate action. “I would like to take a stand and share my story,” Ashford said. “I was in there shopping and she started screaming and yelling at me in the store. I ran to the front and begged them to call police, and said ‘she keeps calling me n*gger.'” When contacted for comment, the LAPD did, however, confirm that there is an investigation underway as to whether or not a hate crime occurred. 

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4. An Odd Coincidence 

While Patton and Adrene don't know each other, there's every chance that they could run into each other professionally, something that scares Adrene to no end! You see 49-year-old Patton is a costume designer and wardrobe assistant in the movie and television industry...and so is Adrene! “I could end up on set with her. I’m scared, this is my livelihood as well. I don’t know this woman from a can of paint, but I learned she is in the film and TV industry and that she has done this to others. It’s very scary," said Adrene about the unsettling encounter. 

5. Why She Shared 

This woman's attack on Adrene is a reminder of the all too common danger that black people in this country feel every single day. "I don’t feel safe. I have a prescription at CVS and I don’t feel safe. I haven’t been able to sleep. She was following me around, yelling at me, shouting what she wants to do to black people. That’s against the law. That’s a hate crime. I want it to be known that this is a hate crime and this type of behavior isn’t OK. She is not a safe person to have out here in the community. I have to be verbal, I have to take a stand, because so many of us don’t speak up. I’ve got to stand up for myself and fight and be a voice and say what happened. She was in the store verbally assaulting me,” she said. 

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6. Not The First Time 

According to her neighbors and to the public record, this isn't the first time Heather has lashed out in a racist way: she's had two restraining orders taken out against her by her own neighbors! They say that “She has a long history of erratic, unstable behavior and making violent threats to him and his family. We had to file restraining orders against her and her husband. They threaten us, to assault us. They were yelling racial slurs," said Tony, who is Italian American. Tony the neighbor also has cameras that have caught Heather threatening to slit people's throats and of her vandalizing a car on the street. 

7. She's been fired and wants to be left alone

According to multiple outlets, Adrene will not have to seek a restraining order to feel safe at work because Patton has been fired. On her Instagram bio, she wrote: “Please do not contact me. I was intoxicated and I sincerely apologize to everyone whom I disrespected and let down by my actions. Please forgive me.”

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Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. She's an experienced generalist with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, pop culture, and true crime.