After the video of the exchange was posted on twitter, people criticised the technology company as ‘racist’.
The video shows two of the teens exchanging words with the Apple employee at the entrance of the store, at the popular Highpoint Shopping Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
The male staff member is heard saying: ‘These guys are just a bit worried about your presence in our store. They’re just a bit worried you might steal something.’
Clearly shocked, the boys respond saying: ‘Why would we steal something?’ to which the staff member replies: ‘Guys, end of discussion. I need to ask you to leave our store.’
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The students appear to continue to question their treatment after the video clip ends.
Social media users responded to the video with anger and are calling it disgusting.
According to the local newspaper The Age, the students’ school principal Nick Scott accompanied the six boys to the Apple store to get an apology for the way they were treated.
A spokeswoman from Apple told the newspaper it was investigating what happened and provided a quote from Apple CEO Tim Cook saying they are committed to ‘equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.'
