A Louisiana man is going viral after he refused to use a transgender-identifying coworker’s preferred pronouns and “chosen name,” after which his boss fired him.
On July 11, Wesley Kirk Ford Jr. posted on Facebook, “I just got fired from Chilis in Denham Springs for calling a nonbinary coworker by her actual legal government name lolol. I now need to find a new job. I also need to find a first amendment/civil rights attorney. I will post more details on exactly what happened after I wind down some because I'm fired up right now lolol.”
You can watch the video of Ford’s boss firing him and Ford refusing to pander to the garbage accusations. It took guts for Ford to do what he did and follow through on his convictions to the point of unemployment in the midst of a lousy job market.
On Monday evening, Ford posted a brief update. “These have been the wildest 48 hours of my life. Overwhelmed, but so grateful. The fight is just getting started. 💪” he wrote on Facebook.
Ford seemed totally stunned by how much traction his story got in just a couple of days. The Hodge Twins, Libs of TikTok, and David J. Harris Jr. are among the influencers who highlighted it. “Im literally in tears. Im having a panic attack. This is blowing up bigger than my wildest imagination,” Ford exclaimed in one reaction.
He posted a video explaining his reasoning. Ford thanked everyone who had sent him messages of support and been “tagging your lawyer friends” to help him out. “This is a really weird time. I did not wake up this morning, you know, expecting to be a warrior in this culture war fight,” Ford admitted.
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Still, Ford acknowledged, “God puts us in positions that we don't really understand at the time. But one thing I know is that I'm not gonna let this — let this go. This is wrong. This is an injustice.”
Man says he was FIRED from Chilis in Louisiana for calling a FEMALE by her actual name and not using “they/them” pronouns
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 13, 2026
“I’m not participating in that shit anymore. You’re not gonna shame me or force me to participate in it.”
“This is a total violation of my first amendment… pic.twitter.com/uVI34Zg3NQ
He emphasized that no one should have to make a choice between keeping his position at work and using some crazy made-up “transgender” name. “I have never been fired from a job ever in my life before,” Ford stated. “I've never been asked to quit, resign, I've never been asked for that … I've never been written up at a job. I have never been reprimanded, disciplined, at any job. I have no disciplinary record at any time. And I got fired for the first time today, from Chili's, for doing the high crime of calling my coworker, whose name is Madeline, by her name, which is Madeline.”
Madeline has now decided that her “chosen name” is Fish. Yes, actually, Fish, like the animal. “I'm just getting too old to, at that point in my life, where, like, I'm not participating in that s**t anymore. Like, I don't care,” Ford said. He argued, “This is a total violation of my first amendment rights, my religious freedom, my free speech.” Therefore, he plans to take this issue to court if possible.
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