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‘How is that not religious discrimination?’: Applicant says she was asked her stance on premarital sex during job interview

‘I knew you were talking about Dave Ramsey.’

Photo of Cecilia Lenzen

Cecilia Lenzen

woman speaking (l) woman at job interview (c) woman speaking (r)

A woman on TikTok says she was asked a number of uncomfortable questions during a job interview, including her stance on premarital sex.

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The TikToker, named Katie (@katie.zaccardi), posted a nearly 3-minute video sharing the interview horror story. She says it was the “craziest interview of [her] fucking life.”

The job interview was with a “big financial guru” that Katie did not explicitly name for a role in online marketing for educational programs. The TikToker says the interview was fine while she and the interviewer discussed the role and work duties, but it got weird once they started discussing company culture.

Katie says she asked whether she agrees with the company’s stance that credit cards are “the new cigarettes” and that no one should have them. The interviewer also allegedly informed her that the company’s employees are expected to be debt-free.

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@katie.zaccardi THOUGHTS & OPINIONS BELOW!!!! This was insane #financeguru #toxicworkplace #toxicinterviewers @Tori Dunlap — Money Expert 💸 ♬ original sound – out to be coaching

“Sorry to say, but I have student loan debt, I have a car loan because I just bought my car,” Katie says. “And I definitely use credit cards, OK?”

The interviewer said the company doesn’t “check wallets at the door” but expects employees to follow the policies in good faith, Katie says.

Then, the interviewer reminded Katie that the company is a faith-based organization and asked Katie if she agrees with their mission. The TikToker says she answered by beating around the bush and saying that she appreciates some of the company’s core values. However, she notes she did not explicitly agree with the company’s stance on religion.

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By that point, the interviewer seemed to notice Katie’s “red flags” since she wasn’t explicitly agreeing with her, the TikToker says. When the interviewer added that the company has a preacher give a sermon to employees once a month, Katie says she was ready to end the interview.

“I’m ready to bow out, but I just don’t know how to do that without being super rude,” the creator says.

The interviewer then told Katie that the company believes their employees should not have sex before marriage. And she allegedly asked if Katie agreed with that stance.

“I’m like, jaw on the floor, completely flabbergasted,” Katie says. “Like how did you just ask me this?”

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The TikToker says she told the interviewer that her sex life isn’t something her employer needs to know about and that she doesn’t feel comfortable sharing that kind of information with her workplace.

“So I didn’t even say yes, and I didn’t even say no. I just said I’m not sharing that information,” Katie says. “Tell me this isn’t discrimination because then she goes, ‘Would you agree you’re not a good fit then?’ At this point, I’m like, get me the fuck off this call, obviously. But how is that not religious discrimination?”

Multiple viewers guessed that Katie had interviewed for a job with Dave Ramsey, a well-known personal finance personality, radio show host, author, and businessman.

“Lmao Dave Ramsey. He’s being sued from a million different angles for this exact kinda stuff,” one viewer commented.

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“As soon as I heard ‘is what happened to me legal’ and ‘financial guru’ I knew you were talking about Dave Ramsey,” another said.

Other viewers assured Katie that the interview questions were indeed discriminatory and likely illegal.

“100% discriminatory — but probably very hard to prove and thereby ‘legal,’” one user said. In reply to the comment, Katie wrote, “My hunch was that because she asked me if I agreed I wasn’t a good fit, that might’ve been the loophole bc I opted out.”

The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via TikTok comment.

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