A seemingly innocuous trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop took an unexpected turn for a Washington teenager when her request to name a stuffed animal after Charlie Kirk was denied by a store manager.
Evi McCormick, 16, recounted to KING 5 News her experience at the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, where she and her friends intended to partake in a popular TikTok trend of crafting personalized teddy bears. However, the situation escalated when McCormick attempted to name her bear after Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, who was tragically assassinated last month.
McCormick expressed her admiration for Kirk, stating, I was just mesmerized and captivated that he could speak with such elegance. He was a role model. Yet, her tribute was met with resistance when a store employee refused to print the name on the bear's birth certificate.
McCormick described the employee's reaction: She just didnt agree with it. She didnt support it and she told me, Were not doing this, folded it up in a force and threw it away. Disturbed by the encounter, McCormick handed her payment card to a friend and left the store.
As reported by The Post Millennial, the incident left McCormick and her friends, including Kailie Lang, feeling uncomfortable. Lang, who witnessed the exchange, confirmed the tension it caused. When KING 5 sought comment from the store, a manager redirected inquiries to corporate headquarters.
A Build-A-Bear customer service representative later informed the outlet that the matter was under internal review.
Amber McCormick, Evi's mother, took action by contacting the company's corporate office, spending 45 minutes on the phone discussing the incident. Initially offered a $20 gift card as compensation for the unsatisfactory experience, Amber later received a follow-up call with an apology.
Build-A-Bear assured her that the incident was not in line with company policy and committed to retraining employees in the Seattle area and nationwide to ensure politics remain outside the workplace. She said that their goal is to try to prevent this sort of situation from happening to anybody else, Amber McCormick explained.
A sign within the Tukwila store advises customers against using indecent or distasteful names for their creations. McCormick emphasized that her intention was not to provoke a political dispute but to honor someone she admired.
It wasnt political until she made it that way, she remarked. This incident highlights the broader conversation about the intersection of personal expression and corporate policy, particularly in environments traditionally considered apolitical.
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