Singer Bo Bice, who was the runner-up on "American Idol" in 2005, has strong feelings about what he believes to be a double standard regarding racist conduct in America. He went on Facebook to vent about prejudice that he felt he experienced at a Popeyes in Hartsville-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He said that employees at the fried chicken chain mocked his name, calling him "Bow-Bow, Boo-Boo, and Bo-Bo," and he took particular offense to being referred to as "white boy."
Apparently one employee called out "Bo-Bo" to see if Bice had received his food, which he had, so another employee then responded, "He already got his, that white boy there.”
It so happens that Facebook eventually deleted Bice's post, which called for an official apology from Popeyes and for the employee(s) who mocked him to be fired. In a follow-up post, he referred to Facebook as a "communist media platform." Having his thoughts censored on social media, Bice decided to take the story to the TV news.
Speaking to FOX 5 from his home in Covington, GA, Bice explained that if he had acted similarly to the workers at Popeyes, then he would experience significantly more backlash. "If the tables had been turned" said Bice, "I would be boycotted, there would be people not buying my albums, there would be people comin' and picketing at my shows, and everything else."
"I don't care if you're Bo Bice, Bo Jackson, or Bo Diddley," said the 41-year-old country rock singer, "when you're walking through that airport you should be treated the same, and when you've given your money to an establishment, you should be treated the same as anybody."
Later in the segment, he began tearing up, as he said, "And the fact that I've got to sit on TV, and come 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. And America you should be ashamed."
The company that owns the airport franchise of Popeyes, Mack II, Inc., did end up issuing an apology statement:
Mack II, Inc. is very sorry that the incident occurred and for any pain or embarrassment that Mr. Bice experienced.
Mack II, Inc. also seems to attribute the offensive behavior Bice speaks of to one employee, whom has since been met with "corrective action."
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.
