She claimed it “doesn’t like One Direction”.
A woman has claimed she was fired from her job for being upset over the death of One Direction star Liam Payne.
The Wolverhampton native died after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina last October.
The unexpected and tragic nature of his death left fans around the world devastated, one of which was TikTok user @mazblan who said her former boss told her she was pathetic when she got upset following the news.
In a TikTok posted last week, Maz described how her boss told her to “grow up” when she was ‘not her usual self’ on the day following the former boyband member’s passing.
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In the style of the “put a finger down” trend, where people ask others to put a finger down if they relate to the experience despite it being very specific, Maz described herself as a “certified One Direction girlie” and said the loss was “tragic”.
Maz explained: “Your boss says, ‘Why are you so quiet?’ and you say, ‘Oh, you know what? I’m just really sad Liam Payne has died’. And then she says you’re pathetic, and then she spits on the floor and tells you to grow up and says you’re not allowed to grieve.”
Horrified by her boss’ rude response, Maz decided to “play One Direction songs” while she worked for the rest of her shift. She thought that was the end of things, but a few days later, she noticed that a meeting had been added to her calendar for 8:30 am, even though she doesn’t normally start work until 9.
She felt nervous about the meeting but believed it could have been good news like a promotion, as she had no reason to assume it would be anything bad. But when she went into the meeting room, she was shocked by what happened.
She added: “So you get there at half eight, bright and breezy, bushy-tailed and all. And you get let go. Which is exciting. And then you sit there and you think, I now have to explain to future employers that I actually got let go because my boss didn’t like One Direction. And you think, hey, it’s the story of my life.”
In the video’s caption, Maz noted that “certain aspects” of her experience “have been dramatised for dramatic purposes,” indicating that things may not have been as explosive as they sounded.
Commenters on the post told the woman she was “better off” without the job if her colleagues were really that rude to her. Others also shared their own experiences at work after the news broke, with many saying they were supported and given space to grieve.
Others said she should have disputed the sacking on the grounds of it being unfair. “I’d be taking that to a tribunal for unfair dismissal,” one wrote.
Another user commented: “You can’t just get sacked like that. You were either already on a final warning or you’re making this up. A disciplinary process must be followed.”
