Cheesecake Factory fires two workers in 'Make America Great Again' hat incident

Wednesday, May 16, 2018
MIAMI (KGO) -- The Cheesecake Factory says two workers accused of making disparaging remarks against a customer are no longer with the company. The employees reportedly verbally attacked an African-American man for wearing his "Make America Great Again" hat.

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The Cheesecake Factory issued a statement on Twitter saying, "All guests should always feel welcome in our restaurants. The recent incident in one of our Miami restaurants fell short of our standards, and we apologize to the guest and his family. Two individuals are no longer employed by the company, and we are continuing to investigate."

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Eugenior Joseph tells conservative news site the Daily Wire he was dining with his girlfriend's family on Mother's Day when a group of employees just started clapping and yelling at him because of his MAGA hat. One of the employees gave Joseph intimidating looks, clenching his fists and making hand gestures that appeared to indicate that he was ready to engage in a fistfight, according to the Daily Wire.
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"We are very disappointed to learn that two staff members made disparaging remarks about Mr. Joseph's hat that made him and his family feel unwelcome," said the restaurant in a statement.

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The Cheesecake Factory says an investigation was launched in the incident. "Not all of the information reported by the media accurately portrays what occurred," said the Cheesecake Factory. The statement continues to say, "the situation may have been exacerbated by an all-staff meeting that took place during our shift change between our staff members working the lunch and dinner shifts, which may have been perceived as a crowd gathering near the guests' tables."
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