News Scrap

Latto has stepped in to support a Waffle House employee who was terminated after participating in the rapper’s “Brokey” challenge.

As previously reported, Latto released her “Sugar Honey Iced Tea” album last month, with the “Brokey” track quickly becoming a fan favorite. However, outside of the love for the song, many listeners felt as though Latto was being condescending in her lyrics and making fun of the working class.  But, to right her wrongs, Latto launched her $10K “Brokey” challenge, inviting fans to share videos of themselves showcasing their jobs.

I hate that y’all think I was calling hard workers brokeys 💔 so I got $10k for whoever make the best video at they job to brokey & I’ll fly u out to be in the music video…no mo waiting til ur bday to go outta town. Tag me & hashtag #Brokey so I can see them all

— BIG LATTO (@Latto) September 15, 2024

The challenge saw many participants, including TikTok user Yadira Ramirez, who chose to submit her video highlighting her job at Waffle House. The footage showed Ramirez and her colleagues harmlessly singing along to Latto’s song while working at the restaurant. Shortly after it was posted, the video gained attention almost immediately, raking in nearly 23 million views on the platform.

Despite Ramirez trying to score a big payday, she revealed just a few days later that she had been fired for participating in the challenge. In a follow-up video, Ramirez was in apparent disbelief as she stated that she had been an employee of Waffle House for six years.

“I just got fired because of that video of Big Latto’s challenge. Yay, I’m glad I put six years in a company that would fire me for literally one video—one video that harms nobody and that everybody was actually rooting for,” Ramirez said.

To make the situation worse, Ramirez also stated that she was placed on the “AFR” list, meaning she could not return to work or be rehired.

“Then they put me on, it’s called like AFR list or something. Basically, I can never get rehired again,” she continued.

Fortunately, things for Ramirez took a turn for the better after Latto learned of her termination. The Atlanta rapper later linked up with Ramirez to offer not only support but also a $10,000 gift. Though Latto hasn’t officially declared Ramirez the winner of the challenge, Ramirez’s aunt took to social media to confirm that her niece took the crown.

“From having fun at her job, being fired, to winning 10k from @latto. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up. Time for the next level,” she wrote.