Nykia Hamilton Burger King worker fired over attendance issues nets $88K in donations amid ordeal to support 3 kids on min wages & 12 hour shifts at South Carolina franchise after TikTok video goes viral.
A South Carolina single mom who went viral last month for running an entire Burger King store by herself has been fired over ‘attendance issues’ — which the fast food worker claims come from ensuring her ‘kids come first.’
Nykia Hamilton, a 25-year-old single mother of three, garnered online fame in July after a customer filmed the parent hustling from station to station alone inside the Columbia, SC, fast-food joint to ensure hungry customers were fed amid a staffing shortage, according to a TikTok video posted on posted on July 6.
Sometimes having a record means it’s hard to find a job, and when you have kids you literally take what you can get to keep them safe, housed, and fed. Nykia Hamilton went viral in July when someone posted a video of her running a Burger King by herself because everybody quit and… pic.twitter.com/TrrSKLRSna
— SonnyBoy🇺🇸 (@gotrice2024) August 20, 2025
Nykia Hamilton Burger King worker fired
But just over a month after the footage was released, Hamilton said she was fired from the burger franchise for being late while taking care of her kids.
‘Bruh [Burger King] fired me because I’ve been late because of my kids,’ she said in a tearful TikTok video posted Aug. 8.
‘My kids come first. Y’all don’t pay for no babysitter, or nothing,’ she said.
‘My mind is already f–kked up. I’m trying to keep pushing for my kids but I cannot do this s–t no more. The devil been on my back bad …I promise you he won,’ Hamilton continued.
Hamilton told of working more than 12 hours a shift at Burger King to support her three children, and said her duty as a parent to provide for them didn’t stop just because she was left alone.
‘One of my employees just quit on me, and they didn’t have anyone else to come in, so I had to work by myself, and close by myself,’ Hamilton told WACH News.
‘Had to do the dishes, do prep, do the floor, do the front counter, drive-thru,’ she said.
Nykia Hamilton Burger King worker in search of a light at the end of the tunnel
The fast food worker also revealed the emotional toll of working long shifts while trying to raise her three kids.
‘I be missing out on my kids’ lives when I work so much,’ Hamilton said. ‘I have to provide for them, but I really don’t have time to spend with them, and it hurts me a lot.’
The mom said she had help the following day, but the Burger King outlet was still understaffed and was forced to run the store on her own on another closing shift.
‘I closed again by myself last night. I finally got help today. Eleven o’clock and will stay until close at 11,’ she said. ‘We just don’t have any employees. Nobody wants to work anymore.’
Hamilton said she’s deeply grateful for the opportunity to work and provide for her kids since turning over a new leaf in life.
‘I wouldn’t have no job because I do have a record, and it is hard to find a job with a record,’ she said.
‘And by grace of God, she gave me a job. So that’s the only reason why I stayed for her,’ Hamilton added, referencing her manager.
Burger King worker games the system that tried to game her
Burger King has since confirmed Hamilton was fired from the franchise.
‘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,’ a company spokesperson said in a statement shared with the nypost.
‘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,’ the statement continued.
‘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.’
Supporters on her video have since urged others to continue donating to her GoFundMe started last month, which has raised just on $89K to help the single mom. Which in some part may also explain Nykia’s latest attendance issues, while not underestimating the grit and gruel involved in being forced to work at a fast food job which pays minimum wages while having to take care of a young family – a no win situation, except for the employer.
