Chris Bautista, known as @bautistud on TikTok, went viral for outing “Flo” from Progressive as “freaking rude.”
Bautista, who has about 45,000 followers, stitched a TikTok of @rytoast10 saying, “Tell me about a time when a celebrity was rude to you.” Bautista says he owns a food truck in Los Angeles and has served many celebrities, including Brad Pitt, Kim Kardashian, and Kanye West.
“But the one celebrity who was rude to me—barely even a celebrity—was Flo from Progressive,” he said. “Flo, the insurance person with the makeup and the red lipstick. She was freaking rude.”
Stephanie Courtney, an actress and comedian, is well known for playing the role of Flo, a quirky salesperson in Progressive Insurance commercials.
According to Bautista’s story, Courtney walked up to his food truck with three assistants: one holding an umbrella for her, one holding her drink, and another to do the talking for her.
The talking assistant asked Bautista what food items were available, and he answered speaking directly to Courtney, who ignored him. The assistant ordered for her. Bautista offered Courtney different options for the order, and she ignored him again. The assistant asked Courtney the same question, and then relayed her answer back to Bautista.
“She refused to talk to me because I was service,” Bautista said.
He ended his video rant joking, “You know what if I was you, I’d switch to GEICO,” and flashing the peace sign.
GEICO patrons in the comments seemed happy with their insurance company’s animated mascot.
“I’ve never been happier to have GEICO rn,” one said. Another commented, “I’m so glad I’m with GEICO that little gecko would never.”
Users agreed with Bautista that Flo is “barely even a celebrity.”
“It’s always the people who are the least famous who act this way,” a user commented.
The Daily Dot reached out to Bautista and Courtney for comment.