Two employees at a Colorado Wendy’s have been fired after a child received a playing card containing a racist note instead of a toy. Manige Osowski told ABC News today that her 7 year-old daughter received a deck of cards in her kids’ meal in place of a tag game at the local Wendy’s in Arvada, Colo. last week.
According to Osowski, racial and other slurs had been written in black ink on an Ace of hearts card. Osowski did not notice the offensive card until her daughter opened up the package.
“We immediately went back to the store and I spoke with the manager. He yelled at the staff initially and said ‘You guys need to stop playing games,’” Osowski said, adding that the manager proceeded to rip up the playing card.
When Osowski refused to leave without the card that had been ripped up, the Wendy’s manager called the police and had her removed from the store, according to Osowski.
“Our brand values center around treating people with respect, and we have taken this situation very seriously,” Wendy’s Spokesperson Bob Bertini said in a statement to ABC News. “We investigated and responded swiftly, and the two employees who were involved are no longer with Wendy’s.”
Osowski said she received a call from a Wendy’s spokesperson apologizing for the incident. She’s asking for a written apology to her daughter and believes that the staff should go complete a “comprehensive anti-racism training.”
Osowski and other community members organized a protest in front of Wendy’s on Tuesday. Osowski called the incident “heartbreaking.”