Popeyes blocks woman buying food for homeless man

‘He didn’t ask for no money and they been so rude’, says GSU student in viral TikTok

A Georgia university student has said she was thanked by police for buying a homeless man food after workers at Popeyes called 911 on her.

Jo Ortega, a Georgia State University student and DoorDash driver, first spoke out about the encounter with Atlanta Popeyes staff in a TikTok last month.

The TikTok video showed Ms Ortega trying to order a homeless man a meal before an employee closed the order window on her and “Jazz”, a man whom she found on the side of the road outside.

“No ma’am, you can’t do it,” an employee said in the now viral video, closing the window and refusing service.

“Ma’am, you can’t do it,” another employee said after Ms Ortega asked to speak to a manager, as Fox5 Atlanta first reported on Monday. “I could care less about you recording me, baby.”

In a second video, Ms Ortega could see police car lights flashing after the Popeyes seemingly called 911 on her and the homeless man.

She said in the TikTok: “They called the cops on me, everything, bro. I can’t order anything for this homeless man right here, he asked for food, he didn’t ask for no money and they been so rude”.

Talking about the encounter in an interview with Fox5, Ms Ortega said she “was terrified, I thought I was gonna get arrested,” when police turned up.

Atlanta police, who told the local news station that Ms Ortega was not charged or arrested because she did not break any laws, in fact applauded her charity, she said.

“The officer pulled me to the side and said, ‘I really thank you for doing that, thank you for buying him food. I appreciate that,’” Ms Ortega said.

A general manager reportedly sympathised with the GSU student and gave the homeless man, Jazz, food for free.

In a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for Popeyes said it was “committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect.”

“We have ensured all employees at this restaurant have been provided with retraining to help navigate a range of guest interactions, such as the situation highlighted in the video,” the statement added.