Dunkin’ Donuts employee in viral video showing him throw food as waste fired as he 'gave it to the homeless'
A Dunkin' Donuts employee who recently went viral for showing netizens how large amounts of donuts were being wastefully discarded has reportedly been fired. The viral video posted by TikToker Bryan Johnston had garnered tens of millions of views on Tuesday as it unwittingly renewed a discussion of the donut chain's food waste policy amid the food insecurity crises triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The 16-year-old content creator later shared details around his termination. "[The video] blew up because everybody was really upset about all the donut waste," he said in another video, in which he shared a photo of himself teary-eyed with the caption, "Just got fired."
"I got fired because corporate apparently contacted my manager about the video, and she went and fired me," he said at the time. "Today was really, really hard because I love making videos for you guys. I made videos [giving donuts] to the firemen and the homeless, and I'm pretty sure that's what got me fired. Clearly, Dunkin' doesn't want me to people to see they're throwing away that many donuts, just because they don't want to pay people to give them to the homeless."
Johnston was seen in the viral video responding to a commenter who encouraged him to "give those donuts to homeless people" instead of throwing them in the wastebin. The TikToker, therefore, packed the donuts that would have been dumped otherwise and gave them to a fireman and a homeless person. According to Daily Dot, some are saying the video Johnston posted before the aforementonioned two videos was likely the one that cost him the job. In that video, the TikToker played "two truths and a lie." Johnston suggested that Dunkin' didn't make their own donuts and that the donut chain may be causing birth defects by allegedly including lead in its matcha. Dunkin'Donuts hasn't commented on the firing yet.
After getting fired, Johnston shared information for his viewers to help him financially. Meanwhile, he continued to attack his former employer and shared another video suggesting he was going into Starbucks because they treat their employees with respect and "the coffee is actually really good." The TikToker later used some of the donations from his supporters to buy Krispy Kreme donuts for healthcare workers. "I wanted to use some of this to do what I'm best at," he said, pointing to the Venmo donations he received. "Not from Dunkin' though, from Krispy Kreme. Better donuts."
He later posted a longer video on YouTube of himself distributing donuts to healthcare professionals.
Last August, MEAWW reported how a Dunkin' employee was arrested after a state trooper found “a large, thick piece of mucus” floating on top of his cup of black coffee. Illinois State Police said in a press release how an Illinois State Police District Chicago trooper had purchased a large cup of black coffee from the Dunkin’ Donuts shop at 6738 West Archer Avenue around 10.20 pm. The officer had removed the lid to cool down the "extremely hot" coffee when he noticed “a large, thick piece of mucus, which was later confirmed to be saliva, floating inside it."