A McDonald’s worker recently went viral for responding to a commenter who accused her of working at the fast food giant for clout instead of money to pay her bills.
TikToker Kai (@kaisbubbletea) posted the video to set a viewer straight on why she chose to work at McDonald’s. Viewed over 41,000 times as of publication, users showed their support in a flood of comments.
@kaisbubbletea Replying to @Psychology Student 👨🎓 ♬ original sound – Kai
Filming the video while working a shift at McDonald’s, Kai replies to a recent comment posted above her head: “Okay so apparently people think I work at McDonald’s for clout…Y’all have either never worked a day in your life, or are privileged enough not to have to work fast food or minimum wage jobs.”
“Cause I work here for the free food, and I need money,” Kai says with a laugh.
She continues to discuss another benefit: how the free food helps her finances. “The free food at McDonald’s has lowered my grocery cost to the point where I only pay $30 a month in groceries. Is it healthy? Absolutely not, but it’s accessible and I’m going to take free food.”
Kai also explains the reason she ended up working at McDonald’s.
“Literally, I’m working at McDonald’s because I’ve gotten rejected from every other job in the area, to every internship I applied to, and also all the jobs I applied to on campus,” she concludes.
Some users shared their own experiences of working fast food in the comments.
“Working McDonald’s was not fun at all tbh, but I could pay for things I wanted and get free food and it was enough for me,” one said.
“Dead I use work in mall there was a lot of homeless people in the food court and other parts in the mall I know what she going through,” a second replied.
“I remember working at McDonald’s during my college days. so much patience required,” a third recalled.
Many users also mocked the comment that caused the video.
“Being accused of working for clout is the funniest thing i’ve ever heard of,” a user said.
“Anyone who thinks she works for clout clearly doesn’t remember the losing money to a scammer era,” a second added.
“What kind of sh*t comment is that? Make it even make sense lmfao,” a third replied.
Even the user that the McDonald’s worker had responded to in the video chimed in to let her know they were joking: “Wait pls I was joking, I also work minimum wage job to pay for school.”
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the federal minimum wage currently stands at the lowest it has been since 1956. A worker earning $7.25 today essentially earns $5000 less than a person working the same job in 2009.
But although the federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised since 2009, the average hourly pay for fast food workers has increased in many places. The nationwide average currently stands at $14.46 an hour. This increase in pay is largely due to demand for workers, inflation, and increasing unionization.
The Daily Dot reached out to the worker via TikTok comments and McDonald’s via email for further information.
