Burger King has responded following reports that a worker was fired after running an entire restaurant by herself for a 12-hour shift.
Mom-of-three Nykia Hamilton, 25, went viral after a TikTok video showed her juggling every task inside a Columbia, South Carolina, Burger King when none of her colleagues showed up for their shifts.
She flipped burgers, fried potatoes, packaged meals, poured drinks, worked the front counter, and took drive-thru orders all at once — while customers lined up inside and outside the store.
“Had to do the dishes, do prep, do the floor, do the front counter, drive-thru,” she said in an emotional interview with WACH Fox 57.
“I be missing out on my kids’ lives and I work a lot... I have to provide for them, but I really don’t have time to spend with them – and it hurts me a lot.”
The clip of her marathon shift racked up over 160,000 views on TikTok, with commenters praising her dedication.
One person wrote: “She is incredible, and she will be blessed!” Another added: “She needs a tip jar. This is unfair to her. She shouldn’t have to do this and run a whole business, restaurant, alone. Thank you for showing up and showing out, though. Thank you.”
Hamilton explained the short-staffing was the result of a colleague leaving on short notice, saying: “[My co-worker] has been here since 11 o’clock and will stay until close at 11. We just don’t have any employees. Nobody wants to work anymore.”
Despite the brutal hours, she credited her manager for giving her a chance. “I wouldn’t have a job because I have a record, and it’s hard to find a job with a record. But by the grace of God, she gave me a job,” she said. “That’s the only reason why I stayed for her.”
But after the video made headlines and Hamilton appeared in local interviews, she was told she was being let go. On August 8, her manager informed her she was being fired due to lateness.
“[Burger King] fired me because I’ve been late because of my kids,” Hamilton told Watch Fox 57. “My kids come first. Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter, or nothing.”
She later added that the sudden fame has taken a toll on her mental health: “I’m already aggravated, I’m already depressed, all of this mental s***, and motherf****** f**king with me, so leave me alone.”
As criticism grew, Burger King issued a statement to the New York Post addressing the situation.
“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,” the company said.
“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.
"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.”