A Build-A-Bear Workshop employee in Tukwila, Washington, allegedly refused to allow a 16-year-old girl to name her stuffed bear after slain conservative icon Charlie Kirk, crumpling up the commemorative birth certificate that comes with each teddy and tossing it in the trash.
Evi McCormick, 16, visited the Build-A-Bear store at Southcenter Mall with friends on Friday to create a special teddy bear in memory of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, who was tragically assassinated on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University.
Kirk had inspired McCormick for years, she told local station KING5, so she dressed the bear in a suit and red tie and filled out the birth certificate with his name.
“I was just mesmerized and captivated that he could speak with such elegance,” McCormick said. “He was a role model.”
However, when McCormick reached the checkout, the unnamed female employee took one look at the certificate and declared, “We’re not doing this.”
According to McCormick, the staffer tore up the document, threw it away, and refused to provide even a blank sheet of paper for the group to write the name themselves.
“She just didn’t agree with it. She didn’t support it and she told me, ‘We’re not doing this,’ folded it up in a force and threw it away,” McCormick explained.
In a Facebook post about the incident, the high school student wrote, “Safe to say, I will not be returning, and my heart genuinely hurts.”
“Charlie Kirk is an idol to me, and to feel the hate, even onto his supporters, is so unfortunate,” McCormick added.
The girl’s mother, Amber McCormick, contacted Build-A-Bear’s corporate office to report the incident. The company initially offered a meager $20 gift card as compensation.
A few days later, a representative called to apologize, stating that “their goal is to try to prevent this sort of situation from happening to anybody else.”
According to reports, Build-A-Bear is handling the matter “internally” and has committed to retraining staff to avoid future bias. It is unclear if the hateful woman is still employed.