Nykia Hamilton, a 25-year-old single mother of three from Columbia, South Carolina, went viral in July after a customer filmed her running an entire Burger King restaurant by herself for nearly 12 hours. The video showed Hamilton working every station – cooking, taking orders at the drive-thru, bagging food, and cleaning – all while customers waited patiently. The clip quickly spread across TikTok, earning her the nickname “Burger King Mom.”
However, Hamilton’s story took a sharp turn just weeks later when she was fired from her job. She claims the termination was due to being late for shifts because of childcare responsibilities. “Burger King fired me because I’ve been late because of my kids. My kids come first. Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter or nothing,” she said in a tearful TikTok video after her dismissal.
In response to the situation, Burger King released a statement clarifying that terminations are decided by franchise owners, not corporate Burger King, and stressed that Hamilton was repeatedly late.
As for the issue of her managing the restaurant all by herself, all thd company could say was how “disapppinted” it was. “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,” a company spokesperson told the New York Post.
Hamilton plans to take legal action
The franchise owner, reportedly identified as Matt O’Doherty of Applegreen, cited Hamilton for repeated attendance issues. However, there appears to be conflicting accounts of how Hamilton’s employment ended. While Hamilton claims she was fired, Applegreen stated that Hamilton “resigned immediately pending an investigation.”
Hamilton disputes the company’s version of events and is now planning to sue for emotional distress. “I feel like that’s emotional distress, y’all neglected me at the job for 2 days,” she said. According to Hamilton, she was told by management that she had “caused controversy” and “caused too much problems from the job” after going viral. She also revealed that the solo 12-hour shift wasn’t an isolated incident, claiming she worked multiple such shifts when other employees didn’t show up.
The situation has highlighted broader issues about working conditions in the fast-food industry, where understaffing often puts enormous pressure on remaining employees. Despite the controversy, Hamilton has received overwhelming public support. A GoFundMe campaign set up to help her family has raised over $135,000, far exceeding its original goal. Hamilton has since secured a new job and is exploring opportunities as a content creator and entrepreneur. She has also announced plans to start a nonprofit called Hand Helping Hands to support single parents facing similar workplace challenges.
