“[Burger King] fired me because I’ve been late because of my kids,” the 25-year-old revealed to followers on TikTok. “My kids come first. Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter, or nothing.
“I’m already aggravated, I’m already depressed, all of this mental s***, and motherf****** fucking with me, so leave me alone.”
A GoFundMe page set up in the days that followed her dismissal has thus far raised over $108,000.
Her story gained such exposure that Burger King themselves have now sought to clarify details relating to her firing. In a statement issued to the New York Post, they confirmed that Hamilton had indeed lost her job.
“Terminations are the decision of the franchisees who own and operate the BK restaurant,” a spokesperson for Burger King said.
“In this situation, the franchisee confirmed that the individual involved is no longer employed due to repeated attendance issues.”
They also expressed dismay that Hamilton had been forced to run an entire restaurant by herself.
“No team member should ever be left to run a restaurant alone, even for a short period of time,” the spokesperson added.
“That’s not how we operate and we’re disappointed that our policy, which required more than one team member to work per shift, wasn’t followed.
“While we can’t share more on individual personnel matters, we’re focused on making sure every restaurant, whether company or franchise-owned has the staffing and support needed to take care of our team members and deliver the kind of experience our guests expect.”
What do you make of Nykia Hamilton’s dismissal? Let us know in the comments.
