'Rude White People' Facebook Post Prompts Zoo to Act

Update:

The young woman in the photo has been fired from her job at the Brookfield Zoo.

The zoo added the following to its original statement about the employee’s Facebook post.

We agree this is unacceptable. We have zero tolerance for these kinds of divisive behaviors. This individual is no longer employed by the Zoo.

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Posted June 9, 2015.

The Brookfield Zoo said “prompt action” was taken this morning in response to an employee who violated zoo policy when she posted a selfie on her Facebook page.

The caption on the young woman’s photo of herself in a Brookfield Zoo uniform read, “Wassup y’all? At work serving these rude ass white people.” She also noted her location as “Brookfield Zoo.”

Brookfield Zoo’s Facebook page has been flooded with comments from people calling the woman racist and threatening to boycott the zoo if the employee isn’t fired. Others defend the woman and plead with the zoo not to fire her.

The woman has removed her Facebook page, but NBC Chicago reported that she responded to the uproar with a post that said, “I know what I am & racist is not one of em.”

The zoo issued this statement on Tuesday morning:

“Yesterday, we became aware of the actions of a single employee which we agree are unacceptable. This employee’s statements in social media are in violation of our policies and do not reflect our institution’s values. We have zero tolerance for these kinds of divisive behaviors. We treat all employment matters confidentially, but rest assured that we have taken prompt action to remedy the situation.”

The zoo asked people not to let this one individual’s actions “overshadow the longstanding good work of the Chicago Zoological Society.”