’90 Day Fiancé’: Omar Albakour’s Wife Avery Mills Says She Faced Discrimination at a Local Store
When Syria native Omar Albakour and Avery Mills, from Columbus, Ohio, first appeared on TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, they were already head over heels in love after talking online. The couple married on Avery’s first trip to meet Omar in person.
And although cultural differences, trouble with the visa process, and family members’ skepticism seemed to take a toll on the young couple, they are still happily married and going strong.
Avery was open during her time on the show about how much her conversion to Islam meant to her. The 21-year-old 90 Day Fiancé star often speaks out about racism, religious discrimination, and people’s negative reactions to her hijab on social media. Most recently, Avery took to Twitter and Facebook to tell a story about allegedly being mistreated at Walmart because of her hijab.
Avery took to social media to claim she faced discrimination from Walmart employees
In early Jan. 2020, Avery posted a story on Facebook and Twitter in which she claimed to have been discriminated against by two local Walmart employees because of her religion.
“I went to Walmart today and two workers were right beside me, they began talking about how America isn’t how it used to be and how Trump needs to take out the trash and looked at me,” the 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days star wrote.
Avery added that the employees allegedly made false assumptions about her finances, language, and lifestyle because of her Muslim religious garb. “I stayed out of it and just continued shopping and they assumed I didn’t speak English and so they pointed at me and say do you think she can afford any of that and the other one said maybe with her welfare check from our taxes,” she continued.
Finally, the young wife claimed she confronted the employees and eventually had them fired for religious discrimination. “I called them out for it they tried to kiss my butt and they no longer have jobs,” she wrote. “Trump didn’t need to take out the trash Bc I did.”
Fans had mixed reactions to Avery’s story
Some 90 Day Fiancé fans expressed their support and compassion for Avery’s story, while others shared their own experiences of religious and racial discrimination. “Avery, you continue to impress me with your strength of character and I love that you stand up for what you believe in. That’s integrity and the world needs more people like you,” one Twitter user wrote.
But others didn’t buy the story and claimed Avery was lying.
The 90 Day Fiancé star defended herself against skeptical followers in a follow-up post, writing, “Guys what reward would I get for lying about what 2 Walmart workers said to me? Absolutely nothing! I don’t regret how I handled it either the only thing I regret is posting it online because some people just love drama. Remember I fear Allah and he knows the truth so why lie?”
A few critics even claimed they called the Walmart in her area and were told the story wasn’t true. “Called them [sweetie],” one Twitter user claimed in response to Avery. “They said they never heard of you. They have zero record of you claiming any incident took place. They also said no one has ever been ‘fired on the spot’ there let alone fired for racial comments. They deny any incident like this took place at all.”
Avery pushed back again, saying her story was 100% true. “So you think calling them they are going to give you that information?” she sarcastically asked the critic. “Do you realize you not believing me isn’t going to change what happened?”
The ‘90 Day Fiancé’ star has spoken out about Islamophobia in the past
This isn’t the first time Avery has used her platform on social media to push back against religious discrimination. At one point, she criticized her 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days castmate Deavan Clegg for arguing that the U.S. wasn’t racist or discriminatory.
Avery has also navigated criticism on social media about her conversion to Islam. In response to one Instagram commenter who claimed her relationship was sexist and oppressive, the 90 Day Fiancé bride responded, “Nothing about my relationship is ugly and violent no matter how much you want it to be.”
Other critics have assumed Avery converted for Omar, but Avery has repeatedly said her love for her religion is her own choice entirely. “I was and still am a Muslim it’s the greatest decision I have ever made,” the 90 Day Fiancé star wrote in one Instagram comment.
