A KFC employee in Springfield, Illinois has been fired after yelling homophobic slurs at a gay couple who were using the drive-through.
Joshua Garner and his partner, Lee Walls, told WAND 17 that they visited the KFC to pick up an order for delivery service DoorDash. When they asked about the order, they said a restaurant employee started yelling homophobic slurs at them.
The couple did manage to capture the moment on camera and shared the horrific footage with the news station. They told WAND 17 that they felt attacked for being who they are while doing their job and that the encounter left both of them shaken.
Walls said he had done two tours in Afghanistan and had “seen some crazy things”. But he froze up during the confrontation with the KFC employee.
Garner said: “It was like a shot to the heart, like a bullet to the heart.
“It was like we couldn’t say anything, and the only person who could stick up and protect us was my little brother in the back seat.”
Police called to KFC over homophobic slurs
The police were called to the restaurant and confirmed to WAND 17 that a report had been filed, but it’s unclear if any legal action has taken place or if an investigation has been launched.
KFC issued a statement saying they had fired the employee for his “unacceptable” behaviour. The chain said: “The behaviour of the team member in this video is completely unacceptable, and the team member has been terminated.
“The franchise who owns the restaurant has been in touch with the guest regarding this incident and offered an apology.”
However, the couple said that they want everyone involved in the incident – not just the individual who shouted slurs at them – to be fired.
The employee in the video called the couple “f**king queer” and said he didn’t “give a f**k” if he was being recorded. One of the men in the car told the employee he couldn’t use homophobic slurs towards them because they were, in fact, gay.
The KFC employee then said: “I don’t give a f**k if ya’ll are gay or not.
“This motherf**ker looks queer so he can get the f**k out of here.”
The man in the car then warns the employee he could lose his job, and the employee repeats that he “doesn’t give a f**k”. He then ended his rant by saying: “F**k the video, f*g.”