Jimmy John’s has “quickly terminated” employees who made a noose out of bread dough in a viral TikTok video.
In the video, one white employee pretends to hang himself, while other staffers help him and giggle as they film. A “Happy 4th of July” filter appeared at the bottom of the video.
Jimmy John’s tweeted a statement about the incident on Monday afternoon, explaining that the actions seen in the video are “unacceptable” and do not represent the brand or the local franchise ownership team.
“As soon as we were alerted to the video, we notified our franchisee, who quickly investigated and terminated all employees involved,” the statement said. “The franchisee is also meeting with their team to conduct training to help prevent anything like this from ever happening again.”
— Jimmy John's (@jimmyjohns) July 6, 2020
The video began circulating on social media over the weekend.
This happened in Woodstock, GA, at a #JimmyJohns. White employees decided to make a noose out of bread dough, to mock the lynching of Black Americans. According to a rep at the store, the employees and the manager were fired. pic.twitter.com/W0cDhZ8bNI
— Ryan Guillory Sr. ???? ???? (@Mr_RyanGuillory) July 5, 2020
The TikTok video drew backlash from social media users, with some calling for a Jimmy John’s boycott.
Hope these assholes loose their their job. Boycott Jimmy John's! https://t.co/R4qhD0luej
— Nikole Arnold (@LadySilverVixen) July 6, 2020
Jimmy John’s has been responding directly to angry tweets about the matter.
We have zero tolerance for racism or discrimination in any form. The franchisee has taken immediate action and the employees have been terminated. The actions seen in this video are completely unacceptable and do not represent the Jimmy John’s brand.
— Jimmy John's (@jimmyjohns) July 6, 2020
