A Popeyes employee named Deriance Ra'Shaiel Hughes was terminated from his position.
The firing occurred after footage went viral online of Hughes following a female customer outside and body-slamming her into the pavement following a conflict inside the restaurant.
Videos emerged on Sunday, November 10, which showed a woman arguing with Popeyes staff about an inconsistency on her check. The victim claims she was charged twice for her $13.11 meal and was told to come back into the restaurant by a manager.
Once she arrived, according to her attorney, the manager began an argument with her, which quickly escalated. Some employees claim the woman repeatedly called Hughes the n-word, while she claims she was called a "an ugly broke-down cracker."
Popeyes argument before body slamming incident. (courtesy FOX17 and Steven Watkins)www.youtube.com
Following that confrontation, another video taken outside the restaurant revealed Hughes body-slamming the customer into the pavement while shouting:
"That's what you get!"
Video appears to show Popeyes employee body slamming woman outside restaurant I ABC7www.youtube.com
Popeyes terminated Hughes and released a statement saying:
"We were shocked to learn about what happened in Tennessee. These actions run completely contrary to our standards and the integrity of our brand."
"Following an investigation, the franchisee took immediate action and we were informed that the employee has since been terminated. The entire circumstance is highly unfortunate for all involved and we hope to never see this type of behavior again."
Twitter was shocked at the violence on display, even if it was provoked by truly bad behavior.
Hughes was later arrested for felony aggravated assault.
The victim's attorney claims she has received two surgeries as a result of the attack and will "need months of rehabilitation."
@lpeterp/Bluesky
@FPWellman/X
@bobsbeatgmail.com5/Threads
