The supermarket chain had posted on social media about an ongoing competition, and unfortunately, the staff member featured in the post was subjected to over 50 comments that contained racist slurs and memes.

That prompted a fiery response from chain owner John-Paul Drake.

“I said, ‘F— off’, this is not acceptable behaviour,” he said.

Drake condemned the perpetrators as “keyboard warriors” hiding behind “anonymous, fake accounts and writing the most obscene things”.

“We will do whatever it takes to look after our team,” he said. 

Drake acknowledged his public profile makes him a target for criticism, but drew a line at attacks on his staff. 

“You want to have a go at me? I understand I’m a business leader, and I’m put out there in the media, I’m fair game,” said Drake.

Although Drakes has deleted the offensive comments, the initial post is still available online with the staff member’s approval. Reports indicate that the employee is open to being involved in future promotions.

Drake indicated a desire to pursue legal action against those responsible if their identities could be determined. 

“This really pisses me off,” he said. 

“I won’t accept anyone talking like that to any of our team members and if you could prosecute over that, you definitely would.”