An Applebee’s employee was left in tears after her manager allegedly commented on her pregnant belly.
TikToker Maria Pantoja shared the interaction in a video that now has over 500,000 views. “When you are 36 weeks pregnant and your manager tells you, ‘What are you having, three kids?’” she filmed herself saying in the video.
While sitting outside the Applebee’s chain restaurant, Pantoja said in the TikTok that she told her manager, “I’m going to cry because that’s rude.” He replied, “What, are you going to pop tomorrow?” The location of the restaurant was not made clear in the video.
“Just going to have a cry fest…someone watch my tables,” she captioned the viral video.
Pantoja shared the TikTok to the platform four days ago, but she has since turned off comments. That didn’t stop social media users from commenting on Pantoja’s other TikTok videos and sharing their thoughts about her manager’s unsolicited opinion.
“I came from your work video & I’m so sorry that happened to you but you’re so pretty girl!” wrote one TikTok user.
“Which Applebees and what manager,” said someone else. “Ima blow the Google reviews up and say I overheard it as a customer.”
“There is a pregnancy act,” explained another user, referring to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act which prohibits dsicrimination against employees affected by pregnancy. “He could be fired and sued.”
“Quit and call the main boss from there or HR or something about him making insensitive comments,” advised someone else. “You don’t deserve that from anyone.”
Patoja reportedly clarified in a since-deleted comment that a co-worker came to her defense and let the manager know that the comment “wasn’t cool.” The manager allegedly “didn’t mean it like that.”
The American bar and grill chain recently came under fire after a franchise executive at an Applebee’s in Kansas suggested lowering wages amid inflation and higher gas prices. The email, which was sent by Wayne Pankratz to other executives, caused a mass resignation after Pankratz argued in the email that higher gas prices and inflation presented an opportunity to cut wages as workers would be living paycheck to paycheck.
Before quitting the Kansas franchise, an Applebee’s employee printed a large number of copies of the email, showed them to the other members of staff, and put them all over the restaurant. Four of the six managers, as well as at least 10 other employees, also quit.
American Franchise (AFC) Brands — which owns Applebee’s including the Kansas chain — have criticised the email and announced that Pankratz has since been terminated.
The Independent has reached out to Applebee’s for comment.
