Latto Supports Fan Fired Over ‘Brokey’ Challenge At Work
Earlier this month, Latto launched the “Brokey” challenge, inviting fans to create videos of themselves dancing to her latest track from the album Sugar Honey Iced Tea. In her post, she wrote, “I hate that y’all think I was calling hard workers brokeys so I got $10k for whoever make the best video at they job to brokey & I’ll fly u out to be in the music video…no mo waiting til ur bday to go outta town. Tag me & hashtag #Brokey so I can see them all.”
The trend quickly gained traction but also led to a significant consequence for one TikToker who lost her job as a result. Social media user Yadira Ramirez posted a 27-second video featuring herself and over five other Waffle House employees participating in Latto’s challenge.
In less than a week, the video accumulated over 23.4 million views, gained more than 3.7 million likes, and attracted nearly 19,000 comments, highlighting the challenge’s viral reach. However, just two days after sharing her clip, Ramirez posted another video revealing she had been fired, only one day after her initial video went live.
She mentioned having worked at the restaurant for six years and was now on the “unable to rehire” list. Ramirez also noted that she was the only one terminated, even though two managers were present during the filming.
“I’m glad I placed six years in a company that would fire me in literally a day, a day, a day of posting one video, one video that harms nobody, that everybody was actually literally rooting for and happy about,” the former Waffle House employee said. “They will never rehire me again.”
Latto became aware of Ramirez’s situation and reached out to her. The two met at the studio on September 24th and danced to “Brokey” together in solidarity. To mark the occasion, Latto surprised Ramirez with a cash gift, turning a difficult situation into a positive, memorable moment.
Naturally, people took to social media to weigh in. “Waffle House be letting employees having Royal Rumbles in that b—- but gon fire her over a Tik Tok challenge lol that’s crazy,” one person commented. Last year, a Waffle House employee went viral for catching a chair mid-air during a dispute. There’s even a Reddit thread calling Waffle House “America’s Late Night Fight Club.”
Others speculated Ramirez’s firing might have been a stunt. “I don’t think she ever got fired. Engagement baiting online works and everyone ate it right on up. Congrats to her tho. She a smart one,” someone wrote.
