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fast food worker
Gray posted the photo with the caption:
"So this just happened at Arby's!"
"Happy Pride, huh?"
Gray's partner, John Burns, told WLFITV:
"I was shocked, just because the kid seem like he was new on the job and he was really nice."
According to WTHR 13, the worker tried to pass off the incident as a computer error, but the manager stepped in. Just a few minutes after the manager comped their meal, the worker was fired on the spot.
The manager could be heard saying:
"[This is] unacceptable and not a part of the Arby's brand."
Many people showed Gray and Burns support on their Facebook post.
Mary Finnegan/Facebook
Susan Chester/Facebook
Jessica L Ortiz/Facebook
Jessica Vandivier/Facebook
Hilary Bouchard/Facebook
Shellie Cherry/Facebook
Kerry Karner/Facebook
Samm Buckles/Facebook
Jackie Kirkland/Facebook
Burns told WLFI:
"This young man has learned this behavior somewhere."
"You know, there are some people out there that don't get people out there are like this and that's wrong."
President for Pride Lafayette Ashley Smith spoke to a larger issue:
"Cause it's a cycle."
"What did this person think when he did this, he or she?"
"Did they feel like they got fired because they got in trouble or got told on by some customers? Do they realize the gravity of what they did?"
Smith also encouraged LGBTQ+ folks and ally's to celebrate and stand up for what's right this Pride month.
To end the cycle, she said:
"They should stand up if they see something happening."
"You stand up and you say this is not ok."
"What else can be done in the moment? if you see this happen, you can't just ignore it."
Pride Lafayette shared their thoughts to Facebook as well:
"When marriage was legalized, homophobia was not erased."
"We as a members of the LGBT community are consistently reminded that there is still so much education and work to do."
"It is awful that this happened at all, but during Pride month it cuts a bit deeper."
"We are glad the manager took action very quickly and handled the situation but what is being done in regards to diversity training?"
A spokesperson for Arby's in a statement to McClatchy News said:
"Arby's has zero tolerance for discriminatory speech of any kind."
"The actions of the franchised employee were unacceptable and not reflective of our brand values."
Arby's also said the company already has diversity and inclusion training for all employees.
The manager standing up against the homophobia and taming immediate action was one of the best things a corporation could do during Pride month.