Last week LifeNews and many other media outlets reported on a grandmother’s accusation that her granddaughter whose face was still healing from being mauled by dogs had been kicked out of a KFC restaurant for scaring the other customers.
According to the Laurel Leader-Call, sources “with deep knowledge of the investigation” say that the entire thing was a hoax. The sources spoke on the condition of strict anonymity because they were not permitted to speak on the record.
If it was a hoax, it was a very profitable one. The family has received over $135,000 in donations as well as offers for free surgeries and medical care.
A third-party mediator was brought in to investigate the allegations against KFC, and that investigation is expected to end later this week. It’s that investigation that the sources are referring to.
KFC won’t comment on the investigation until it’s over, but they did release this statement on Friday: “We continue to take this report seriously, and of course have great sympathy for Victoria and her family. Since we have so far not been able to verify the incident in our internal investigation, we have also hired a third-party consultant to conduct an independent investigation to help us resolve this matter. We have always prided ourselves on respect for all people and we will continue to emphasize this to all our employees. In addition, regardless of the outcome of the current investigation, KFC Corporation has committed $30,000 to assist with Victoria’s medical bills. Along with the KFC Corporation, we are determined to get to the truth and address the situation appropriately.”
There are several reasons the sources gave to believe that this was a hoax.
The original accusation was against a KFC location that hasn’t been open for years, but apparently still shows up on Google Maps. Victoria’s aunt who runs the Facebook page where the accusation originally appeared had said very specifically, “Thank you for your support for Victoria. If you would like to file a complaint its the KFC on State Street in Jackson MS.” That store has been closed for years.
Of the open KFC locations near the hospital, security footage showed that the little girl was never there on the day the incident was supposed to have happened. The grandmother was also very specific about the food they ordered that day: “I ordered a sweet tea and mashed potatoes and gravy. I sat down at the table and started feeding her and the lady came over and said that we would have to leave, because we were disturbing other customers, that Victoria’s face was disturbing other customers.” Every receipt was looked through for that day, and there was not one order that included both sweet tea and mashed potatoes, even as part of a larger order.
If this does turn out to be a hoax, it makes me very sad for Victoria, who is probably caught in the middle of all of this. I suspect that this story will follow her for years, even if she had nothing to do with the plot to go after KFC and take donations from people across the country.
LifeNews will keep you informed when the investigation is complete.
