KFC employee fired after yelling homophobic slurs at gay couple
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — A local KFC location is under fire after a video showed one of its employees yelling homophobic slurs to a couple.
The scene unfolded in the drive-thru at the KFC on South Sixth Street in Springfield.
The man behind the wheel said he was picking up a DoorDash order, and it turned into a full-blown verbal match.
On Wednesday night, Lee Walls was driving with his boyfriend, Joshua Garner, and Garner's little brother.
Walls works for DoorDash and was picking up and delivering meals.
We're told the food the DoorDash customer ordered wasn't available when they arrived.
Walls, Garner, and Garner's little brother were in the drive-thru when they realized the food was unavailable.
Walls then called the customer to see if there was something else they wanted.
During that time, an employee came up to the window and allegedly asked, "Is there a problem?"
Walls said he motioned his hand upward to indicate he needed a second since he was on the phone with the customer.
Walls said she reacted by saying, "Hold on I know this mother****er did not just put his hand up at me."
That's when Garner grabbed his phone and started recording the interaction.
The video from the encounter can be seen below.
WARNING: This video may be offensive to some.
“They just started to get very angry, very quickly," Walls said. "It seemed like everyone was taking turns to come to the window and yell at us."
During the confrontation, the KFC employee, identified as Payton Burke, started hurling homophobic slurs at the couple.
In the video, you can see Walls call Springfield Police.
Once officers got there, they filed a disturbance report.
“We just sat there and took that," Garner said. "We should have never had to take anything like that. It just really sucks because I regret not standing up for myself and I regret not doing something more."
KFC responded to the incident, saying:
"KFC does not tolerate discrimination of any kind in its restaurants. The behavior of the team member in this video is completely unacceptable, and the team member has been terminated."
KFC said the owner of the restaurant contacted the couple and offered an apology.
But Walls and Garner say they still aren't satisfied and think the KFC location should clean house.
The other employees in the video have been suspended, pending an investigation.
