Single Mom Who Went Viral For Working An Entire Burger King Shift Alone Says She Was Fired Over Lack Of Childcare
What a perfect summation of American work culture.
Sorbis | Shutterstock Part of the American Dream is the idea that if you work hard, stay loyal, and have a winning attitude, things will come together and you'll rise to the top. As all too many people have learned in recent years, that is nearly always a lie because our work culture is one where the actual workers doing the work are as expendable as the garbage that goes in the dumpster each night.
A South Carolina single mom who went viral in July for being an exemplar of the strong, hard-working grit that is supposedly central to the American ethos has now gone viral again, this time for she's become an example of the underbelly of our country's approach toward working people.
A single mom who went viral for running an entire Burger King alone has been fired.
Nykia Hamilton became an unlikely viral superstar in July when a customer at the Burger King where she worked in South Carolina realized, while waiting for their food, that Hamilton was running the restaurant entirely by herself.
She was running the cash register, making the fries, cooking the food, running the drive-through, cleaning, doing dishes, and serving diners all by herself, over the course of a shift that stretched more than 12 hours. Footage of Hamilton immediately went viral, and her story became a profile in work ethic.
In interviews at the time, Hamilton explained that other employees had quit, leaving her to manage the situation on her own. A 25-year-old single mom of three working two jobs, Hamilton became emotional describing her struggles."I be missing out on my kids’ lives and I work a lot," she said, tearing up. "I have to provide for them, but I really don’t have time to spend with them — and it hurts me a lot."
The single mom said she has since been fired because of her struggles to find childcare.
Despite her dedication to her job — many of us would have simply walked out rather than run an entire Burger King on our own — Hamilton recently posted a TikTok saying that she had just been fired from the very job she saved from having to close that day.
“[Burger King] fired me because I’ve been late because of my kids,” Hamilton explained through tears. “My kids come first. Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter or nothing." This is, of course, a common dilemma faced by working moms, one our legislators have been unwilling and unable to address for years, and one which the current President has worsened since taking office, promising to fix it in his 2024 campaign.
Of course, many theorize that she was fired for a completely different reason. Exposing the appalling working conditions at her Burger King location, which are far from isolated. The fast food industry is notorious for appalling working conditions, inadequate breaks, punishingly low wages, and pervasive wage theft that exacerbates both.
Hamilton's story shed light on precisely that problem, and it's hard not to notice the timing of her firing, arriving less than a month after her viral moment. Hamilton herself seemed to take note of this, referencing the virality she didn't ask for in her video and asking people to leave her alone.
A GoFundMe started by the single mom has resulted in an outpouring of support.
Despite Hamilton's understandable rage at the circumstances she faces, the community has shown up for her in a big way. A GoFundMe started last month when she went viral has since rocketed over the $90,000 mark, and an outpouring of supportive comments has been written on the page.
"Keep it going Mama!!! You are doing an amazing job!!" one person wrote. Another wrote, "As a single mom and even former Burger King employee, I am sending you a ton of love. Keep your head up mama." Others were far more direct: "Go be with your babies," one donor wrote, cutting to the very heart of the matter.
Amid the outpouring, Hamilton has reached out on social media looking for collaborators to start what she called a non-profit "support group" to help single parents facing situations like hers. Which really hits at the heart of what this story is actually about.
Our politicians love to bloviate about the supposed "dignity of work" and how poverty results from "laziness," but if it wasn't clear before, it should be crystal clear since January: They don't actually care.
Unless you are a millionaire or better, the uncomfortable truth is that the only thing any of us has is each other. If a single mom of three can find a way to turn her hardships into a way to help others like her, the rest of us have no excuse but to show up for one another.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
