Kierra King, a Black woman in Southern California, was offended when she found her name was changed to King Kong on the label of a vial during a visit to the doctor.
“This is beyond unacceptable,” King captioned a video she posted to TikTok, where she showed followers the label that read “King, Kong” instead of King, Kierra.” She continued to film as she questioned a health care employee who claimed she was unsure who had printed the label. “Can you understand why I, as a Black woman, would have a problem with that?” King asks the employee in the video. “That’s unacceptable. Even if it is a typo, which if they want to pull that and say what it is, how?! Seriously?!”
King requested for the unidentified employee to see who made the label and said that she would not leave the office without raising the concern. The woman assured King it was not her and did not know how the mistake happened. The woman returned with the medical assistant who admitted to creating the label. However, she claimed it was a mistake and said, “It wasn’t really my intention to put your name like that.” She continued to say that they gave the vial to King to double-check the information and claimed King “didn’t mention anything” about any information being incorrect. However, according to King, nothing was “double-checked” as far as the name.
After seemingly accusing King of not saying anything about the name earlier when she did her sample, the medical assistant told her, “If you feel some type of way about how I wrote it, and you want to report me, that is totally fine.”
According to King’s TikTok post, the incident occurred at Perlman Clinic, which serves San Diego and Orange County.
Following the outburst from TikTok users, the clinic issued the following statement:
“At Perlman Clinic, every patient is important to us. We are dedicated to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment where all individuals feel respected, valued, and cared for. Diversity is at the heart of who we are, and we strive to ensure that each person who walks through our doors receives compassionate care tailored to their unique needs. Your health and well-being are our top priority.”
King said her incident is just one instance of “blatant racism” and chose to use her social media platform to raise awareness. A 2024 analysis published by KFF revealed that Black women are more likely than other groups to report unfair treatment from healthcare providers due to race and ethnicity. For Black women who used health care in the past three years, 34% reported worse health, being less likely to seek care, or switching health care providers.
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