A South Carolina woman, and mother of three, has allegedly been fired from her job at Burger King after videos showing her run the entire store alone went viral. Nykia Hamilton was seen managing a Burger King store in Columbia singlehandedly.
Hamilton said in a TikTok video said she had been fired as she got late due to her kids. “Bro my kids come first and now when are y’all going to watch my kids? Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter no nothing,” she was heard saying.
Hamilton reportedly worked over 12 hours at the Burger King to support her kids. Speaking to WACH News, she said “One of my employees just quit on me, and they didn’t have anyone else to come in, so I had to work by myself, and close by myself.” “Had to do the dishes, do prep, do the floor, do the front counter, drive-thru,” she continued.
GoFundMe page launched
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Hamilton, who said “I am a 25-year-old single mom of 3 who works 2 jobs. I just went viral for working on TikTok. If you wanna contribute, it's ok.”
{{/usCountry}}A GoFundMe page has been set up by Hamilton, who said “I am a 25-year-old single mom of 3 who works 2 jobs. I just went viral for working on TikTok. If you wanna contribute, it's ok.”
{{/usCountry}}She continued “I wasn't expecting my life to change how it did. I really do everything for my kids.” Hamilton has raised $114,323 thus far.
Burger King mom gets internet's support
Many on the internet expressed support for Hamilton, sharing news of her firing. One person said on X “Some are saying this lady needs a raise, I don’t think so. This lady needs a whole different employer as this is tolerance, dedication and commitment all wrapped up in one person.” Another asked, “How could they possibly fire her for this?”
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Yet another person remarked “Another franchise will make her a General Manager,” adding that they would no longer be eating at the fast-food chain.
Burger King issues statement on the matter
Burger King issued a statement over email to The New York Post in this matter, saying “No Team Member should ever be left to run a restaurant alone, even for a short period of time. That’s not how we operate, and we’re disappointed that our policy, which requires more than one Team Member to work per shift, wasn’t followed. Terminations are the decision of the franchisees who own and operate the BK restaurant. In this situation, the franchisee confirmed that the individual involved is no longer employed due to repeated attendance issues."
The spokesperson added, “While we can’t share more on individual personnel matters, we’re focused on making sure every restaurant, whether company or franchise-run, has the staffing and support needed to take care of our Team Members and deliver the kind of experience our Guests expect.”