Updated: July 26, 2026. Valentine Floral has permanently closed, and owner Raymond Valentine has since been indicted in a separate criminal case. The full update is at the end of this story.
A Columbus floral shop is at the center of widespread online backlash after a TikTok video showing a heated confrontation between the store owner and a delivery driver began circulating and quickly went viral.
The video, posted by Antonio Moss, shows his mother, Uber driver Kimberly Moss, attempting to complete a return order at the shop when the interaction escalates.
In the footage, the store owner, Raymond Valentine, can be heard verbally berating Moss, with the exchange intensifying over the course of the video.
The clip also appears to include the use of racial and misogynistic slurs directed at the driver.
@mnm412614 My mother was returning a floral order (requested by Uber) and this was the reaction she received from the belligerant store clerk. He then called the police & told them she had a gun. #ValentineFloral #racistoftheday #racismawareness ♬ original sound – mnm412614
According to the caption shared with the post, Kimberly Moss was at the store to return a floral order requested through Uber when the confrontation occurred. The post also alleges that the store owner contacted police during the incident and claimed Moss had a firearm, an accusation that is not shown in full context in the video.
The video has gained significant traction, surpassing 2 million views.
It has prompted an outpouring of support for Moss across social media. Many users have condemned the store owner’s behavior and called for accountability following the incident.
The business involved, Valentine Floral, faced intense online backlash. Its Google listing was flooded with negative reviews, dropping to a 1.3-star rating as commenters responded to the viral video.
Valentine spoke to ABC6 after the incident, offering the following explanation of his behavior.
“I have many friends of color. I’m not racist,” Valentine told ABC6. “What happened yesterday came across as being racist. And I deeply apologize. And I wish I could make it up to her. But I probably won’t be able to. And that’s something we’ll have to live with.”
Since then, Valentine’s social media pages have gone dark and his business phone has been disconnected. Reporters who stopped by during posted hours found the shop locked.
Valentine claimed he was facing threats of violence after the video went viral. Antonio Moss told ABC6 that calls for violence go too far.
“That’s unnecessary, bombing his house,” he said. “I feel like he should just be exposed. Shut his business down. Share it, let the world see how much of a monster he is.”
So How Did It All End Up?
Valentine Floral is permanently closed. The Eakin Road shop never reopened after the video spread, its listings on Apple Maps and Yelp now carry a permanently closed flag, the company website is offline, and the phone number has stayed disconnected since the week of the incident.
Valentine told ABC6 in April that he planned to take anger management courses and customer service training, and both sides said they had spoken with Columbus Police and their attorneys about a resolution. Whatever came of that stayed private. The incident itself never led to charges, and Valentine hasn’t spoken publicly since that first apology.
The strangest casualty was a thousand miles away. Valentine Florist in Houston, an unrelated shop that happens to share the name, spent that week fielding hate meant for Columbus. “We’re just hardworking, honest people just trying to make a living,” the Houston shop’s owner told ABC6. “I hope that he gets help, really.”
The video that started it all is still up. The business it showed is gone.
Then Came The Indictment
On July 13, 2026, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson and Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Shayla D. Favor announced that nine suspected members of a west Columbus human trafficking ring had been indicted on a combined 42 felony counts. Raymond Valentine is one of the nine.
According to the indictment, filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, the group used narcotics to coerce women into commercial sex work at the Econo Lodge on North Wilson Road, then laundered the proceeds through Valentine Floral on Eakin Road. Prosecutors say the alleged crimes took place between April 2025 and January 2026, months before the confrontation that made the shop infamous.
Valentine, 55, faces three felony counts: engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with evidence, and money laundering. He isn’t charged with trafficking anyone himself; those counts belong to other defendants. ABC6 reports the indictment identifies at least three victims and more than $136,000 tied to the operation. All nine defendants are in custody.
An indictment is an accusation, not a conviction, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless proved guilty in court. Three months after the viral video, the story of Valentine Floral has moved from social media to the Franklin County courthouse.
