taco bell black lives matter

People in Canada cancelling Taco Bell after employee fired over Black Lives Matter

Taco Bell Canada has been caught up in what can only be described as a PR nightmare these last two weeks; first, the fast-food company was forced to deny contributing to Trump's campaign, and now, Taco Bell is being called out for something even worse.

On June 8, an Ohio restaurant manager claimed he was fired for wearing a Black Lives Matter mask to work.

"I'm not taking it off," Denzel Skinner said in the Facebook live video, in response to a manager asking him to remove the mask. "Girl, I'm not bringing politics in. This is what I'm standing for. How is this considered politics?"

A segment of Skinner's original video quickly went viral, racking up over a million views on Twitter.

The incident may have happened south of the border, but that hasn't prevented dozens of Canadians from taking to social media to show their support for Skinner.

"Yeah, cancel Taco Bell," someone from Calgary wrote. "It's crap. It's always been crap, and apparently it's racist crap. #RIPTacoBell."

"Taco Bell sucked before and sucks more now," a Vancouver resident wrote.

"How would you fire someone for doing the right thing??" a Toronto resident wrote to Taco Bell. "Have you offered him his job back?? Shame on you!"

"Guys buy from your local Mexican restaurants forget this taco bell nonsense," another one said.

Taco Bell has since voiced its support for the Black Lives Matter movement and has apologized to Skinner.

"We are deeply upset by the incident that took place in Youngstown, OH. Denzel Skinner should never have been put in this position," the statement released on Thursday says.

"We believe the Black Lives Matter movement is a human rights issue and not a political one. We do not tolerate racism or violence against the Black community and we demand inclusivity."

Taco Bell says that it has been working with Skinner and various franchisees to ensure that change is implemented.

"We know we still have a long way to go and we will make serious, tangible changes," the company said. "We will hold ourselves accountable."

Lead photo by

Mike Mozart


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