McDonald's apologises after Muslim woman ordered to remove headscarf at Seven Sisters branch

Francesca Gillett1 December 2017

McDonald’s has apologised after a Muslim woman was told to remove her hijab by a security guard at a restaurant in London.

The young Londoner filmed the McDonald's employee telling her to remove her headscarf and saying: "it's just a matter of taking it off" at the branch in Seven Sisters on Friday.

In the clip, he appears to block her from stepping forward to the tills to order her food after she rightly refuses to remove her hijab and explains that she wears it for religious reasons.

Eventually, another customer steps in and tells the employee he cannot stop her from entering the restaurant.

She is heard saying: “It’s not just a matter of taking it off. I wear it for religious reasons and I’m not ashamed of it. And I will stand in line and I will get the food that I want because this isn’t OK.

“I go to all the shops and any restaurant I want and in my hijab and I buy the food I want to buy and then I come here. And I literally live down this street from here.

A McDonald's employee asked a Muslim women to remove her headscarf
@south_sab

“This is actually like a hate crime, this is a hate crime.”

The customer who stepped in to help then said: “You can’t stop her coming into here because she’s wearing a headscarf.”

The woman replied: “I’m sorry I just want to know who is implementing this policy because this is f****** ridiculous.”

She is accused of being rude and tells staff: “I’m not being rude I’m just so shocked right now. I’ve been living in the UK for 19 years now and this is the first time I’m faced with this kind of discrimination and I am shocked. I’m actually shocked.”

The footage ended with the Muslim woman leaving the restaurant and telling staff: “I don’t want anything any more.”

It was posted on Twitter by a woman named Sabrina, who said the footage was recorded by her friend.

“My friend was refused service at a McDonalds today in London because she was wearing a hijab,” she said.

“When she started recording the incident, she was told to stop but thankfully didn’t.

“Thank you to the kind man who defended her against the security guard and employees at the store.

“It is disgusting that hate crimes and discrimination are so prevalent in this country, especially in such a diverse city like London. We cannot be silent bystanders to this hate.”

McDonald's apologised in a message on social media and also released a statement.

A spokeswoman for the fast food giant said: "McDonald’s does not have a policy in place which restricts or prevents anyone wearing a hijab, or any other religious dress, from entering the restaurant.

We welcome customers of all faiths and would like to apologise to the customer as this situation should not have taken place.

"We are taking this matter extremely seriously and are addressing this with the individuals involved."

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