In July 2025, Burger King worker Nykia Hamilton went viral when she was seen running an entire Burger King store by herself.
Over the course of a 12-hour shift, Hamilton ran the counter, the drive-thru and the kitchen by herself after being left short-staffed at late notice.
Despite achieving viral fame for her commitment and work ethic, Hamilton was soon let go by Burger King over ‘attendance issues’.
"[Burger King] fired me because I’ve been late because of my kids," Hamilton explained in a TikTok video. "My kids come first. Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter, or nothing."
We reached out to Burger King, who said: “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.”
Burger King continued: “Terminations are the decision of the franchisees who own and operate the BK restaurant. In this situation, the franchisee confirmed that the individual involved is no longer employed due to repeated attendance issues.
“While we can’t share more on individual personnel matters, we’re focused on making sure every restaurant, whether company or franchise-run, has the staffing and support needed to take care of our Team Members and deliver the kind of experience our Guests expect.”
While appreciation was thin on the ground at Burger King, Hamilton has since racked up a staggering amount via a GoFundMe page. At the time of writing, she has raise over $108,000 (£80.5k), and now she’s revealed what she plans to do next.
The Columbia, South Carolina resident said on the page description: "I am a 25-year-old single mom of 3 who works 2 jobs. I just went viral for working on TikTok. If you wanna contribute, it's OK. Thank y'all for the support," she wrote in the description.
"I wasn't expecting my life to change how it did. I really do everything for my kids."
In a fresh update, the mum-of-three who had been working two jobs before being fired by Burger King said: "Thank y'all so much for the support. I didn’t expect turn out, but I promise I won’t let y'all stay tune for videos dropping soon."
Posting on Instagram, she continued: "Hey, y'all. How y'all doing? "I'm really looking for sponsors to start this support group called 'Hands Helping Hands', helping any single parent, single mother, single father, anybody out there that needs help, period.
"So anybody want to be a sponsor or want to contribute, or want to be part of this movement, please inbox me, hit me up. I really try to make this happen. I try to make this a nonprofit organization to help other people out. Thank you."
It seems like Burger King let a legend slip through its fingers.
Featured Image Credit: SOPA Images / Contributor/Getty ImagesTopics: Fast Food, US Food, Burger King, News, Social Media
Rachael Davis