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Bo Bice: ‘American Idol’ Alum Speaks Out After Experiencing Racism At Atlanta Popeyes

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 12:23 PST, Jan 4, 2017

Bo Bice is speaking out after he says he experienced racism first hand from employees at an Atlanta Popeyes restaurant.

According to People magazine, the incident took place at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Dec. 30. Bo went to the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in Terminal B to get some food. As he was placing his order, several African-American employees started mocking his name, referring to him as “Bow-Bow,” “Boo-Boo,” and “Bo-Bo.” Apparently, Bice’s order was rang in twice, and when they called his name a second time, one of the employees said, “He’s already got his — that white boy there.” Bo was furious over the treatment he received from the restaurant’s employees and took to Facebook to share his frustration.

“If the tables had been turned and I, as a white male, treated any person of ethnicity any way resembling how she spoke to and treated me, I’d be considered insensitive and racist,” Bo wrote in a Facebook post, that Facebook has since deleted, recalling the incident.

“Why is it that three or four Popeyes employees can openly mock a courteous PAYING customer in front of an airport terminal of people without any recourse and no apology?”

Bo’s Facebook post reached 45,000 people and received 800 likes, 250 comments, and 350 shares in just 27 hours before it was deleted on January 1. In response to Facebook’s decision to side with Corporate Popeye’s side, Bice, a 41-year-old singer and father of four, issued another statement.

“Facebook deleted my post last night and in turn silenced the opinion of all of you and me who are tired of the racist double standards that have infested our society,” he wrote.

“All I wanted was an apology… Now, Popeyes’s will be hearing from my attorney, and to all you FB fans of mine, I’ll be deleting this communist media platform from my devices and life. You took CORPORATE POPEYE’S side Facebook, but you should have checked the validity of their complaint. You cannot stifle my opinion and TRUTHS without it being seemingly one sided. Read trough the post and show me where my words meet the rules that FB has in place for removing posts.”

Mack II Inc., the company that owns the Popeyes airport franchise, reached out to Fox-5 and issued a statement taking responsibility for the actions of their employees.

“[Popeyes] is very sorry that the incident occurred and for any pain or embarrassment that Mr. Bice experienced,” the statement read.

“The company does not condone the behavior of one of our associates and we took corrective action as soon as we were made aware of the incident,” the company continued.

“Also, we will require re-training of our associates to ensure this isolated incident does not occur again. In addition, Mr. Bice has been issued an apology by the General Manager. We value all of our customers regardless of race, religion, age, disability, gender, etc.”

Bo Bice competed during American Idol’s fourth season in 2005, coming in second place to country music singer Carrie Underwood.

What do you think about the incident that took place at the Atlanta Popeyes? Do you agree with Bo Bice? Leave your comments below.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

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