{"id":32486,"date":"2026-07-17T12:02:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T16:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=32486"},"modified":"2026-07-17T12:02:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T16:02:53","slug":"chilis-employee-says-he-was-fired-for-refusing-to-use-nonbinary-coworkers-preferred-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/07\/chilis-employee-says-he-was-fired-for-refusing-to-use-nonbinary-coworkers-preferred-name","title":{"rendered":"Chili\u2019s Employee Says He Was Fired For Refusing to Use Nonbinary Coworker\u2019s Preferred Name"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Joseph Hendrickson \/ stock.adobe.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A man fired from a Louisiana Chili\u2019s is claiming he was fired for refusing to use a non-binary coworker\u2019s preferred name, while the restaurant insists he was fired for \u201charassment.\u201d Wesley Kirk Ford Jr., an employee at a Chili\u2019s in Denham Springs, posted on his Facebook\u00a0 July11th<\/sup> that he had been fired. \u201cI just got fired from Chilis in Denham Springs for calling a nonbinary coworker by her actual legal government name lolol,\u201d wrote Ford<\/a>. \u201cI now need to find a new job. I also need to find a first amendment\/civil rights attorney.\u201d \u00a0In a comment, he shared an image that he claimed was given to him as his reason for being terminated. \u201cWes continued to call TM Fish by her dead name, even though he was requested to stop by tm and management,\u201d the paper stated. \u201cHe refused to call her by her preferred name and used her government name instead to the point that she was physically unable to continue her shift.\u201d Ford noted the paperwork was ironic because it referred to the employee as \u201cher\u201d when she uses \u201cthey\/them\u201d pronouns. \u201cFish\u201d is the employee\u2019s preferred name while her legal name is \u201cMadeline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ford recorded management reading his termination notice and posted it online<\/a>. In the video, Ford can be heard laughing in disbelief when it is noted that Madeline was unable to complete her shift. \u201cShe was physically unable to continue her shift because I called her Madeline four times?\u201d he asked incredulously. The video went viral, being shared by numerous conservative influencers, including Libs of TikTok. Ford posted a separate video<\/a> stating he was shocked by the attention he was receiving and that he appreciated the support he had received. He called what had happened to him \u201can injustice.\u201d \u201cI\u00a0have never been fired from a job ever in my life before. I’ve never been asked to quit, resign, I’ve never been asked for that \u2026 I’ve never been written up at a job. I have never been reprimanded, disciplined, at any job. I have no disciplinary record at any time,\u201d he claimed. \u201cAnd I got fired for the first time today, from Chili’s, for doing the high crime of calling my coworker, whose name is Madeline, by her name, which is Madeline.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement to Fox News<\/em><\/a>, Chili\u2019s defended Ford\u2019s firing. \u201cWhile we normally do not comment on people-related matters, we believe it is important to clarify the actions taken in this situation. The individual was terminated due to repeated instances of harassment toward his fellow team member, which is in violation of our policies, to the point the team member was unable to continue the shift,\u201d the company stated. \u201cThe terminated individual was repeatedly asked to stop the harassing behavior, but he refused.\u201d Ford has insisted that he is seeking out his legal options. \u201cI\u2019m not participating in that s— anymore,” he said. \u201cLike, I don\u2019t care. I don\u2019t care, I put my foot down. And I\u2019m just not, I\u2019m not participating in it.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A man fired from a Louisiana Chili\u2019s is claiming he was fired for refusing to use a non-binary coworker\u2019s preferred name, while the restaurant insists he was fired for \u201charassment.\u201d Wesley Kirk Ford Jr., an employee at a Chili\u2019s in Denham Springs, posted on his Facebook\u00a0 July11th that he had been fired. \u201cI just got…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":32489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nChili\u2019s Employee Says He Was Fired For Refusing to Use Nonbinary Coworker\u2019s Preferred Name<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Louisiana Chili\u2019s worker says he was fired over a nonbinary coworker\u2019s preferred name; Chili\u2019s says harassment led to his dismissal.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/07\/chilis-employee-says-he-was-fired-for-refusing-to-use-nonbinary-coworkers-preferred-name\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chili\u2019s Employee Says He Was Fired For Refusing to Use Nonbinary Coworker\u2019s Preferred Name\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Louisiana Chili\u2019s worker says he was fired over a nonbinary coworker\u2019s preferred name; 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