Note: we are republishing this story, which originally made the news in January 2017, amid an ongoing nationwide conversation about race and racial justice in America.
“American Idol” runner-up Bo Bice claims he was attacked on the basis of his race at a Popeyes restaurant at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.
“He already got his, that white boy there,” Bice, 41, claims one of the fast food restaurant’s employees said of him, before mistakenly delivering his order to somebody else, the Daily Mail reports.
The women reportedly laughed after referring to him as “that white boy.”
Previously, Bice claims one of the women had mocked his name for five minutes straight, calling him “Bow-Bow, Boo- Boo, and Bo-Bo.”
Bice later uploaded photos and the name of one of the women onto social media.
“If tables had been turned and I used something as insensitive like that … I would be boycotted, people wouldn’t buy my albums,” Bice said while explaining his reasons for being upset to WTTG.
Facebook promptly removed his post, referring to it as bullying while stating it violated their policy to not “identify and shame private individuals.”
The move angered Bice.
“Facebook deleted my post last night and in turn silenced the opinion of all of you and me who are tired of the racist double standards that have infested our society,” he wrote in a second post, after his first was deleted.
“You took CORPORATE POPEYE’S side Facebook, but you should have checked the validity of their complaint,” he added. “You cannot stifle my opinion and TRUTHS without it being seemingly one sided.”
Bice refuses to stop talking about the incident, claiming he believes it is time to start a conversation.
“The fact that I have to come on TV and calm down a notch, and look like a petty little brat by tweeting and Facebooking this just to open up dialogue so we can have an adult conversation is ridiculous,” he said, WTTG reports.
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen later apologized for the incident.
“The company does not condone the behavior of one of our associates and we took corrective action as soon as we were made aware of the incident,” the company said in an official statement.
Bice added he requested the employee not be fired, but re-trained instead.
“The reason she wasn’t fired is because I asked Edith Hunter her manager not to do so. I told her that she needs some sensitivity training,” he wrote on Facebook.
