GoFundMe Campaign Seeks To Help Victim Of McDonald's Worker Water Throwing
DETROIT (WWJ) - A Chicago-area woman is raising money for a Detroit homeless man who was the center of a video that went viral.
The man, Willie Payne Jr., had water thrown in his face by a McDonald's employee after the fast food worker lured him to the drive-thru window with the promise of a sandwich.
After viewing the video, Realtor Christine Calabrese of Classic Realty Group in Oak Forest started a GoFundMe crowd-funding page to help.
"It was just such a horrible act. That's what really initiated, " she told WWJ Newsradio 950's Zahra Huber. "It really...it brought tears to my eyes. And when something impacts you like that, you have to act on it."
McDonald's franchise owner Wise Finley said he was "very disturbed by the inappropriate behavior" of the employee who threw the water, announcing Tuesday that the yet-unidentified man had been fired.
"This type of behavior is not tolerated in my organization. I expect my employees to treat everyone with dignity and respect," Finley said.
[**WARNING: Racial slurs and strong language** See the video HERE]
Calabrese said money raised will be used to pre-pay for an apartment for Payne and supply him with clean clothes and food "to give him an opportunity to turn his life around."
"Help me restore his faith in humanity!" she said.
The GoFundMe page had collected $150 toward a $10,000 goal as of noon on Wednesday. [To contribute, visit this link].