Apparently a Detroit teen had no idea that her tweet could affect her job. Now she knows.
The 17-year-old was hired at Livonia, Mich.’s Biggby Coffee franchise but hadn’t yet started. She reportedly sent out a tweet from her now-deleted account about Trayvon Martin in response to George Zimmerman’s not guilty verdict. “I want to thank god…for the bullet that killed Trayvon Martin.”
Some friends gave positive responses, but little did she know her comments were passed around the Twitterverse. Several people tweeted slams to Biggby Coffee for hiring a “racist.” The company also received angry comments on its Facebook page, and 500 calls placed to the franchise.
The employee was reportedly suspended and then fired, all before her first day on the job. Location owner Bob Perry said he had “no knowledge whatsoever” of the tweet when he hired the teen. Perry also called her words “horrific.”
Biggby released a statement condemning her actions:
BIGGBY COFFEE does not in any way condone the statements made by the employee at one of its franchise locations. … The thoughts and opinions of BIGGBY COFFEE franchise employees do not reflect the thoughts and opinions of BIGGBY COFFEE. BIGGBY COFFEE’s cultural values have been and continue to be: B-Happy, Have fun, Make friends, Love people, Drink great coffee
In 2007 Biggby changed its name from Beaner Coffee amid criticism over the term commonly known as a racial epithet used against Mexicans.
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Photo: Facebook
