KFC officials said Sunday that they are investigating allegations that a scarred three-year-old girl was asked to leave a Jackson, Mississippi restaurant because she was scaring other patrons.
Victoria Wilcher was disfigured after being attacked by three pit bulls in April. She wears a patch over her missing right eye, and has scars across her mouth, jaw, and neck. Wilcher's grandmother, Kelly Mullins, said the injuries apparently disturbed a KFC employee two weeks ago.
"They just told us, they said, 'We have to ask you to leave because her face is disrupting our customers,'" she told WAPT-TV on Friday. Mullins said Victoria cried all the way home and is now ashamed of her appearance.
"She won't even look in the mirror anymore," Mullins reported. "When we go to a store, she doesn't even want to get out [of the car]."
Victoria has undergone several surgeries to repair a broken right eye socket, cheekbones, nose, and jaw. Her right eye was removed and the right side of her face is paralyzed. A Facebook page dedicated to her—Victoria's Victories—states that the child must grow more bone before she can have more surgeries.
KFC apologized yesterday for their employee's alleged behavior, and will donate $30,000 to Victoria's medical bills.
"As soon as we were notified of this report on Friday, we immediately began an investigation, as this kind of hurtful and disrespectful action would not be tolerated by KFC," spokesman Rick Maynard wrote in an email to the Associated Press.
"Regardless of the outcome of our investigation, we have apologized to Victoria's family and are committed to assisting them. The company is making a $30,000 donation to assist with her medical bills. The entire KFC family is behind Victoria."
A KFC franchisee in Jackson has also offered to provide Victoria and her family with a KFC picnic.
"I offered to treat Victoria to a picnic because regardless of the outcome of the investigation, she has been thru more than any little girl should and I wanted to give her a special treat," Dick West told the AP.
