McDonald’s CEO Apologizes for Texts About Children’s Deaths

(Bloomberg) -- McDonald’s Corp. Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski is apologizing for text messages casting blame on the parents of two children who were killed in Chicago-area shootings.

In an April message to Mayor Lori Lightfoot about the deaths of Adam Toledo and Jaslyn Adams, Kempczinski wrote, “Both the parents failed those kids, which I know is something you can’t say. Even harder to fix.” The communication was uncovered in a public-records request and made public by a coalition of community groups, including worker advocate Fight For $15.

“Those comments were wrong, and I’m sorry,” Kempczinki said in a Nov. 6 video message viewed by Bloomberg News. The video was sent to McDonald’s employees, suppliers and franchisees who own and operate more than 90% of McDonald’s restaurants. “I’m sorry I let you down, and I let myself down.”

Companies are increasingly grappling with issues of race and social justice after the Black Lives Matter protests and racial reckoning of 2020. The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year largely focused public attention on the inequities in society, including that of Hispanic and Black families and children.

Toledo, 13, was killed by Chicago police earlier this year in the city’s Little Village neighborhood, which is predominantly Hispanic. While police initially said the boy was holding a gun, bodycam videos released in April showed he dropped the weapon before he was fatally shot by an officer.

In April, 7-year-old Adams was shot and killed, and her father was wounded, in a McDonald’s drive-thru near Chicago’s Loop business district. Three men have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting, including one who was seriously injured after he crashed a vehicle while trying to elude officers and then attempted to steal another vehicle, according to the Associated Press.

‘Narrow Worldview’

The leader of McDonald’s also acknowledges in the video that he has a “very narrow worldview” that he’s working to fix. Kempczinski, who has been CEO of McDonald’s since 2019, is holding a conversation Monday afternoon with employees at the company’s Chicago headquarters and virtually. 

“I am learning from this and will meet this moment with resolve for the future work that I must do, as well as the future actions that I must undertake,” Kempczinski said in a message issued Friday to employees that was also viewed by Bloomberg News. “I believe that starts with more listening and learning from more people whose life experiences are different from my own.”

McDonald’s shares fell less than 1% at 3:12 p.m. in New York.

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