Coyote Ugly waitress who won race discrimination case after colleague ‘humiliated’ her over Brazilian accent has ‘not received a penny’ of her £35k payout

A Brazilian waiter who won a race discrimination case after a colleague ‘humiliated’ him because of his accent has ‘not received a penny’ of the £35,000 payment he was paid.

Ana Beatriz Machado was harassed by a colleague at the Western-themed bar Coyote Ugly, who told her she “didn’t like her voice” and that customers “didn’t understand her.”

The 31-year-old man was also accused of stealing money from the bar’s safe and sending it back to his family in Sorocaba, Brazil. He was later fired on New Year’s Eve 2022.

Ms Machado, a single mother living in Liverpool, won a five-figure payout after representing herself and successfully suing Coyote Ugly for racial harassment.

The labor court, convened in October 2025, ruled that her dismissal was related to her nationality and was an “act of harassment”.

However, it turned out that the waiter, who currently works at Hooters, did not receive any financial aid from Swansea Audio Ltd, which previously operated the Coyote Ugly Saloon.

Ms Machado described the outcome of the case, which she likened to ‘David versus Goliath’, as ‘only half a win’ as her bank account remained untouched.

He said the incident left him ‘losing a lot’. [her life]’ he says, adding that the company’s failure to pay is ‘disgusting’ and ‘feels personal’.

Ms. Machado was harassed for her accent while working at Coyote Ugly before she was fired in 2022. She is photographed here with her daughter.

To talk BBCMs Machado said: ‘I feel like they are spending a lot of money paying lawyers to fight me, which would cost a lot more than actually paying me.

‘It makes me feel like any big company can do whatever it wants with people.’

The mother-of-one now fears her chances of getting the money are diminishing as Swansea Audio Ltd is shown to have accumulated debts of £888,000 in Companies House filings to June 30, 2025.

Despite the firm’s financial insecurity, director Steve Lewis set up a new firm, Coyote Ugly Limited, in May 2024, Ms Machado said.

Swansea Audio Ltd’s headcount fell from 100 in 2024 to 15 in the latest accounts to June 2025.

Swansea Audio Ltd was ordered to pay Ms Machado £35,526 following a five-day hearing in Liverpool. This drops to £15,000 for injuries to feelings and around £13,000 for past losses.

Speaking after the case, he said the experience caused him to suffer from anxiety and depression, which caused him to ‘stop eating’, ‘stop sleeping’ and reportedly became dependent on food banks to provide food for his five-year-old daughter Ella.

Ms Machado, who is the mother of daughter Ella, had been working as a ‘Coyote’ (a term for female bartenders) at Coyote Ugly for a year when she was harassed.

At Coyote Ugly, female bartenders called ‘Coyotes’ often wear cowboy boots, jean shorts and tops, and line dance to entertain the crowd.

During her employment, Ms. Machado was harassed by Coyote Rhiannon Freeman, who told another waitress not to give Ms. Machado the bar’s microphone.

Staff had to use the microphone at work to talk to customers but Ms Freeman said they ‘didn’t understand her’, referring to Ms Machado.

It was also revealed that Ms. Freeman said Ms. Machado was ‘weird’, had ‘difficulty communicating’ and ‘didn’t like her voice’.

Employment Judge Jane Callan ruled Ms Freeman’s comments amounted to racial harassment and she was awarded £35,526 in compensation.

Judge Callan said: ‘This was undesirable behavior that had a humiliating effect.’ [her] or creating an aggressive environment for him.

‘[Her] The accent is specific to his nationality and that is why we see that the unlawful act of harassment has been committed.’

Ms. Machado also successfully brought a harassment lawsuit over the dismissal of assistant principal Rebecca Fitzsimmons because it was determined that she was influenced by her nationality in dismissing her.

He was accused by the assistant manager of stealing money and sending it back to his family in Brazil.

An employment tribunal heard Ms Machado started working at Coyote Ugly in Liverpool (pictured) in December 2021.

Employment Judge Jane Callan ruled Ms Freeman’s comments amounted to racial harassment and she was awarded £35,526 in compensation.

Ms Fitzsimmons accused him of not taking drinks and cash payments from some customers but not putting them all in the till.

Judge Callan said there was insufficient evidence to conclude he had committed theft.

Speaking after the court, Ms Machado said comments about her accent had made her lose confidence in herself and that she felt she was being used as a ‘joke’ because she was an immigrant.

He said: ‘I’ve seen people make bad jokes about my accent and use it against me. ‘I shouldn’t have been used as a joke.’

Ms Machado said her dismissal made her anxious and that she ‘couldn’t sleep’ due to ‘fear, shame and insecurity’.

He didn’t think anyone would believe him and wanted to clear his name of the accusations.

She said: ‘As a human being and a mother this experience was very difficult.

‘I became very depressed and had to take medication to cope with the whole process, as well as the fear and embarrassment that people might believe the false allegations of theft made against me.

‘The biggest struggle for me was to clear my name. When an employer takes everything you have, including the most important thing: your name, you’re stuck in fear, shame, and insecurity.

‘I was worried that no one would trust me again. I felt like no one would believe me.

‘I’m a single parent. Without my job, I couldn’t afford anything for my daughter. I was going to the food bank to buy food.

‘It was December, almost January, and all the bills for December were unpaid. So this time I was very scared. So I had no money.. I had no money to buy food.

‘This made me feel so bad. I started questioning myself a lot. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat. I went to bed at 5 o’clock in the morning. I had to go to the NHS to get sleep and ease my anxiety. ‘I couldn’t live.’

It took Ms. Machado a year to find another job, leaving her financially strapped and worried about her daughter.

He said: ‘When I finally found my new job, for a long time I lived in fear that they might fire me for any mistake I made.

‘I was afraid to open the safe and I was afraid of the tips I might receive, because the reason my former boss fired me was because the tip jar looked ‘too full’ for him.’

Ms Machado, from Sorocaba, Brazil, now has permission to stay through her daughter, who is a UK citizen.