Office Depot faces boycott after Portage, Michigan worker, Beryl, refuses to print flyers for Charlie Kirk vigil calling them political propaganda, leading to the store being widely condemned and the company issuing apology and worker fired.
And the polarization of American continues…
A worker at a Michigan Office Depot was fired after allegedly refusing to print posters for a vigil honoring Charlie Kirk, instead calling the material ‘propaganda.’
Beryl Office Depot worker turns down print job calling it political propaganda
The refusal comes days after the 31 year old conservative firebrand being fatally shot while addressing students at Utah Value University at the hands of a 22 year old Mormon gunman.
On Friday afternoon, the Kalamazoo County Republican Party ordered posters of the slain father-of-two from an Office Depot in Portage, Michigan, ahead of a vigil honoring Kirk that night.
Nearly three hours after the order was placed, a supervisor named Beryl contacted organizers to say the action would not be completed, labeling the content as ‘political propaganda.’
Of note, Office Depot as part of its policy reserves the right to refuse work it deems as graphic, inflammatory, inciting.
🚨 BREAKING UPDATE: Following Office Depot called Charlie Kirk tribute posters “POLITICAL PROPAGANDA” and REFUSED to print them, FedEx Office stepped in and printed them for FREE
THANK YOU, @FedEx! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/EKrDaku5Zi
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 13, 2025
Office Depot worker overboard?
That night, attorney and Republican activist Matthew DePerno took to X to criticize the company for what he described as blatant political bias.
‘Hey @officedepot @OfficeMax do you think this is acceptable?’ he wrote, sharing a photo of the $56.17 receipt for the canceled order.
Alongside the receipt, DePerno also shared a video taken inside the store, of him discussing with employees the call he had received.
A woman he spoke with identified herself as one of the store’s managers and reiterated that the location ‘doesn’t print political propaganda.’
DePerno defended his position, telling workers that the flyers were for someone who had passed away and were specifically intended for a prayer vigil scheduled that night.
Nevertheless the woman, only identified as Beryl maintained that the store does not print materials like that.
Another woman, who appeared to be filming the exchange, then joined the conversation, asking the manager what specifically about the request made it ‘political propaganda.’
‘Because he’s a political figure and I don’t have to…’ Beryl began, before trailing off mid-sentence.
Did Beryl pick the wrong moment to commit to her political beliefs? Should Beryl being more aware and sensitive to the tragic passing of a man revered by many, even if she personally disagreed with his politics and views? Would she have disagreed had Kirk being revered in the Democrat community? Couldn’t she just understand people were grieving the loss of a hero. An esteemed member of their community. Even if he wasn’t her personal hero?
And then again what makes an office manager the arbiter of what counts for political propaganda? Couldn’t she see past the politics Kirk represented and understand the humanity and tragedy of his passing? Or was Beryl just going to be a bixtch today?
Conservatives outraged take to the internet
In his post on X, DePerno shared that the group then went to FedEx, where the staff printed the poster free of charge.
Despite securing the poster – a black-and-white photo of Kirk fist-bumping the air with the words ‘The Legendary Charlie Kirk’ – DePerno’s post soon went viral. And that’s when the mob (aka the faceless internet) came looking for blood.
Office Depot faced immediate and intense backlash, with some calling for a complete boycott of the store.
‘HOLY CRAP. A customer put in an order and paid for a poster for a vigil for Charlie. @officedepot REFUSED to print it because they said it’s “propaganda.” WTF @officedepot?!’ Libs of TikTok wrote to X.
Another user wrote: ‘Office Depot just dug the final grave for themselves.’
‘Sell your Office Depot stock! They will feel that more than any boycott,’ wrote another.
Responded another: ‘WTF @officedepot…#BoycottOfficeDepot they don’t want our business so lets shut em down! Lets put them mainstream!! We can do this! Anti-American P.O.S!!’
Just hours after DePerno’s viral post, Office Depot took to X to express that they are ‘deeply concerned’ (do you suppose…?) and confirmed the employee involved is no longer with the company.
‘The behavior displayed by our associate is completely unacceptable and insensitive, violates our company policies, and does not reflect the values we uphold at Office Depot,’ the company wrote presumably aware that it had suddenly found itself in an unwanted PR disaster it wanted nothing to do with in light of the tragic shooting death of Kirk.
‘We sincerely apologize to the customer affected and to our community for this regrettable situation,’ the statement added.
Office Depot further explained that they immediately reached out to the customer to ensure the order was fulfilled to their satisfaction.
Cancel culture in America
However, it remains uncertain whether Office Depot refunded the payment.
‘We also launched an immediate internal review and, as a result, the associate involved is no longer with the organization,’ they wrote.
‘We are committed to reinforcing training with all team members to ensure our standards of respect, integrity, and customer service are upheld at every location. Our customers and communities deserve nothing less.’
And then there were these comments on the web below that caught this author’s attention. See what you think?
‘That’s a pretty intense outcome. Losing your job over a political disagreement shows just how charged things have become. Whether people agree with Kirk or not, once someone pays for a service, denying it was always going to cause backlash. This whole thing is another reminder of how toxic and polarized the climate is right now.’
‘I am so sick of these woke liberals. We need to make a list of all of their names. that way, if any future employer ever googles them, they will know exactly who they are and what they stood for. Once you go woke, you will always stay broke. We will protest every company that hires these woke liberals. They will have to move to a different country if they ever want to work again.’
‘Same white dudes that complained about cancel culture and free speech for years immediately turned into bitches over Office Depot & Charlie Kirk.’
‘Conservatives are more pissed at Office Depot for not printing a poster of Charlie Kirk than they are at the conservative kid who shot him.’
‘This is corporate censorship. This is how the Left weaponizes businesses to silence voices that stand for faith, family, and freedom.’
