National Post (National Edition)
Former Idol hopeful claims ‘white boy’ jibe
Singer wins apology from chicken chain
You may remember Bo Bice as the long-haired runnerup to Carrie Underwood on the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. In the years since, Bice has not only become a fried chicken enthusiast, but also the man to begin a “racial dialogue” to help set America straight. Bice made headlines this week when an employee at a local Popeyes daringly referred to him as “white boy.”
Bice, 41 and a father of four, had his feelings hurt at the Popeyes located in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on December 30, where he later claimed in a lengthy Facebook post that several African-American employees mocked his name “for five minutes straight” after he placed an order, calling him such names as “Bow-Bow,” “Boo-Boo,” and “Bo-Bo.” When his order came up, he claimed an employee “condescendingly” said: “He’s already got his — that white boy there.”
In his Facebook post, Bice wrote: “If the tables had been turned and I, as a white male, treated any person of ethnicity any way resembling how she spoke to and treated me, I’d be considered insensitive and racist. Sooooo... Why is it that three or four Popeyes employees can openly mock a courteous PAYING customer in front of an airport terminal of people without any recourse and no apology?”
In protest, Bice left a complaint on Popeyes’ customer service line and tweeted the company. Before having received a response to his claims of “discrimination,” Bice declared he would be taking legal action.
In a tearful interview with Fox-5 on Tuesday, his glasses askew, Bice proclaimed: “America, you should be ashamed,” while denigrating the country’s history of racial prejudice, from police brutality to rude service at a fast food chain.
“I’m not a bigot — I love everybody,” he said. “If the tables had been turned and I used something as insensitive like that… I would be boycotted, there would be people not buying my albums, there would be people coming and picketing my shows and everything else.”
“All I want is an apology,” Bice added. “I don’t care if you’re Bo Bice, Bo Jackson, or Bo Diddly. When you’re walking through that airport, you should be treated the same. And when you’re giving your money to an establishment, you should be treated the same as anybody.”
In response, Mack II Inc., which owns the Popeyes airport franchise, apologized on behalf of the restaurant in a statement to Fox-5, saying they are “very sorry that the incident occurred and for any pain or embarrassment that Mr. Bice experienced. 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 . ... Mr. Bice has been issued an apology by the General Manager. We value all of our customers regardless of race, religion, age, disability, gender, etc.”
Bice later claimed in yet another Facebook post that he would be dropping any plans for a lawsuit, and that he also called the restaurant’s manager to ensure that the employee, named Shawana, would not be fired and, instead, suspended.
“I told her that she needs some sensitivity training and the behavior pattern of these employees needs to stop,” he wrote. “You’re welcome, Shawan. I hope you get your attitude under control and that the training your team receives helps to stop this from happening to others. I hope you get back to work soon!”
Bice’s original post was removed by Facebook, though in his later, equally lengthy post, he addressed this action as a “double standard,” adding if the situation had been reversed and an actual minority had been discriminated against, “you’d have the NAACP, Al Sharpton all over this situation and every channel on TV would be covering this story.”
Bice reprimanded the social network for taking “corporate Popeyes’ side” and oppressing him, dubbing it a “communist media platform” that he would soon be deleting from his “devices and life.”
Unfortunately, that may have been a false promise from the man who simply wanted to help “educate” the world and begin an “adult dialogue,” as he is still very much online and continuing to post lengthy diatribes not only about Facebook, but America as well.
“You should have checked the validity of their complaint,” Bice wrote, in response to Facebook, “You cannot stifle my opinion and TRUTHS.” Oh, wow. Very articulate.