Nykia Hamilton, the single mom of three who became known as the “Burger King Mom” for managing one of the chain’s locations for 12 hours by herself, was recently fired. But social media users banded together to raise over $130,000 for her.
It all started on July 6, when a TikToker named Dejah posted a video of Hamilton working alone at a Burger King in Columbia, South Carolina.
“We got one beautiful person working here, all by herself,” the TikTok user says. “She doing everything, she doing the fries, she doing the burgers, she doing the chicken sandwiches, she doing everything by herself.”
That video went viral, with commenters saying they “felt sorry” for her and calling her a “survivor.” Many thought she should get a raise ASAP.
Hamilton, who is also on TikTok, was made aware of her viral fame, and in addition to posting videos with her kidsages 7 years, 8 months and 2 months — she acknowledged that fans had nicknamed her the “Burger King Mom.”
“You know my name, but not my story,” Hamilton says in a July 16 video.
Weeks later, on Aug. 8, Hamilton tearfully shared on TikTok that she had been fired from Burger King because she had “been late because of [her] kids.”
“My kids come first. … Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter, no nothing,” she says. “The devil been on my back … he won.”
In Hamilton’s comments section, people left messages of support for her and criticism for the burger chain.
“They really fired her because she went viral and exposed the restaurant,” wrote one TikTok user.
“If you operated the Burger King by yourself you should open your own restaurant one day,” wrote another.
“No Team Member should ever be left to run a restaurant alone, even for a short period of time,” a Burger King spokesperson tells TODAY.com. “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 spokesperson adds that “terminations” are up to the owners who operate the restaurant, and the franchisee confirmed that Hamilton is no longer employed due to repeated attendance issues.
Since Hamilton went viral for her solo shift at Burger King, a GoFundMe she set up has raised over $130,000.
Hamilton has posted several times since she was fired to share that, thanks to the donations, she was able to buy herself a car with air conditioning and pay off bills.
Hamilton also says she has started her own cleaning business, along with other ventures.
“Life’s been great,” she tells TODAY.com. “I paid my tickets, planned my kids a trip to Great Wolf Lodge. We never been anywhere.”
Hamilton also says she keeps in touch with Dejah, the woman responsible for her virality, and she’s been giving back to the family that’s helped her the most — her own.
“Good morning y’all,” Hamilton says in another video where she pays her mother’s rent and brings her to tears. “Since y’all been blessing me, I’ma bless my mama.”
