PORTAGE, Mich. — A former Office Depot employee who denied a request to print a poster of Charlie Kirk is speaking out for the first time about the viral incident that they say cost them their job and forced them to take measures to protect their identity online.
Christine Deneweth, who goes by Crass, worked at the Portage Office Depot location when the September incident occurred. Video of the exchange was viewed millions of times online.
"I was just doing my job," Crass said. "We got the order for the poster. It wasn't even my idea to begin with, to deny the customer's poster. But, I was just backing up my coworkers."
Crass says they didn't work in the print department.
Watch Julie Dunmire's video story below:
Crass said they thought they were following company policy when refusing to print the poster. Office Depot's current printing terms and conditions state the company will not print "materials that threaten imminent harm or incite violence."
The customer who requested the poster, James Asher, chair of the Kalamazoo Young Republicans, told FOX 17 the image was intended for a prayer vigil following Kirk's death.
"The picture literally just said the legendary Charlie Kirk 1993-2025, and it was a nice picture of Charlie, black and white, it wasn't political propaganda," Asher said in September.
WATCH: Julie's initial report on the Office Depot - Charlie Kirk poster controversy
Office Depot issued a statement on September 12 reading in part: "The behavior displayed by our associate is completely unacceptable and insensitive, violates our company policies, and does not reflect the values we uphold at Office Depot."
"We gave the customer a full refund, and thought that was the end of it," Crass said.
After the video went viral, Crass says they eliminated their presence online.
"Everything was just so unpredictable. I got a VPN. I made myself disappear off the internet pretty quickly," Crass said. "Yeah, it was pretty scary. I just don't know what people are capable of, especially nowadays."
WATCH: The full video from the Office Depot in Portage
Crass hopes their experience serves as a lesson for unity.
"Your average every day person is not your enemy. We all need to unite together, and just unite. I'm so sick of the divide that we all have," Crass said.
Office Depot did not respond to requests for follow-up comment.
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