Thursday, August 21, 2008

Timothy Tackett, The Burger King Bather, Fired

My college professors always warned us to be careful what we publish on the Internet. As it turns out, Timothy Tackett never got that piece of advice.

If he had, he may have thought twice before posting a video to his MySpace page, showing him bathing in his employer's kitchen sink.

In the nearly four-minute video, Tackett, 25, who more famously goes by the alias Mr. Unstable, is seen basking in a sudsy utility sink in the back of the Xenia, Ohio, Burger King where he works. That is, used to work.

Just days after the video was posted, the company fired Tackett and four to five other employees working the graveyard shift, when the unsanitary hijinks was filmed, Tackett said.

Some say it's not unreasonable to assume someone at Burger King might search the Web for clips relating to the restaurant franchise and happen upon Tackett's posting.

Now increase those odds by 868,000 -- about the number of hits so far to the various versions on YouTube. Yes, the footage lives on even after MySpace removed it without Tackett's consent and has even spurred a few parodies, ranging from funny to confusing.

Burger King's reaction to seeing a seemingly nude employee -- even though he was wearing a Speedo, he assures -- bathing in the restaurant's sink, the same one used for washing dishes and utensils, isn't surprising. But Tackett argues the other employees on duty were punished unjustly. "None of these people had anything to do with the situation," he said. "I don't see what anybody could have done." Sadly, all is fair in YouTube and fast food.

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