Chappell Roan Worked At This Controversial LA Donut Shop
Before Chappell Roan's explosive rise to fame that led her to take the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2025, she was just another musician trying to make rent in Los Angeles. After Atlantic Records dropped Roan from the label in 2020, she was making ends meet at Donut Friend, a popular L.A. donut shop known for its punk-rock vibes and music-inspired treats. (Think donuts called "Fudgegazi" and "Save the Danish.")
When Roan mentioned "working at a donut shop" during an interview on "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon, Donut Friend was quick to comment with a post on Instagram, captioned, "It's us. THE donut shop." The reel showed a variety of donuts being packed into a box to the tune of Roan's song "Hot to Go!"
Roan was in good company during her days at Donut Friend, with fellow star Olivia Rodrigo saying she used to visit the musician when she was working there. "I used to go and eat donuts with her and hang out," Rodrigo told Fallon in a "Tonight Show" appearance. But aside from its association with these major stars (even the founder used to be in the music business), Donut Friend also made headlines for a controversial rumor regarding labor relations that spread on X, formerly known as Twitter.
What was the controversy surrounding Donut Friend?
In 2021, a tweet from someone using the handle @ElSangito went viral after claiming Donut Friend's management was firing employees "for trying to unionize" (via Eater). The tweet also urged people to boycott the store in protest. The shop's owner, Mark Trombino, said the accusation was completely false — but it did stir up some dirt and other complaints related to the Donut Friend work environment.
An Instagram account named @donutfriendunited levelled a plethora of allegations against the donut shop in a post from January 2021. These included claims that the shop wasn't taking precautions during COVID-19, that management intimidated employees after they raised concerns, and that workers were fired over suspicions they were organizing. While a former employee who had been fired told Eater the initial viral tweet wasn't totally true, he did confirm that employees had been organizing and were planning to officially unionize in the near future.
Trombino rejected the claims publicly as well as in the phone interview with Eater. A labor union was filed with the National Labor Relations Board for Donut Friend employees at the end of April 2021. It doesn't seem Chappell Roan has publicly commented about the controversy, so we can't be sure of her take on the Donut Friend work culture.