Fund-Raiser Helps Homeless Man Humiliated in Fast-Food Lane

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A Chicago-area woman is raising money for a homeless Detroit man who was the victim of a mean trick pulled by a fast-food worker who threw water in his face after luring him to the drive-through window with an offer of food.

Christine Ciana Calabrese, a Realtor with Classic Realty Group in Oak Forest, IL, said on a GoFundMe crowd-funding page that she’s raising money to pre-pay for an apartment and help the man who was taunted and humiliated, Willie Payne Jr., get back on his feet.

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Calarese told the WWJ radio station that a video of the trick, posted on YouTube, was so disturbing that it compelled her to act.

“It was just such a horrible act. ... ” she said. “It really … it brought tears to my eyes. And when something impacts you like that, you have to act on it.”

The McDonald’s employee behind the trick has been fired, the franchise owner Wise Finley said in a statement to the media.

“This type of behavior is not tolerated in my organization,” Finley said. “I expect my employees to treat everyone with dignity and respect.”

By mid-afternoon Wednesday, $215 of the $10,000 goal had been raised.

Donate to the fund below.

[**Warning: The video of incident contains racial slurs and coarse language.**]