Report: KFC Incident a Hoax

A new report claims that the story of a girl thrown out of a KFC due to her disfigured face never actually happened.

Background

The story which received heavy press coverage recently claimed that the girl named Victoria – whose face was mauled by three dogs – was asked to leave a KFC location because her appearance was disturbing to other customers. After the incident, KFC released a statement and donated $30,000 to the girl’s medical care. Another $135,000 has been raised online for the girl’s care at gofundme.com.

Now the Laurel Leader-Call has claimed that the entire incident was a hoax. According to sources close to the investigation, the incident “never happened.”

The Facebook page Victoria’s Victories (which has since been removed), which acted in defense of the girl’s family, responded to the Laurel Leader-Call’s report:

I promise its not a hoax, I never thought any of this would blow up the way it has. The article circling the web calling this a hoax is untrue. The article it self say the investigation is not complete. It is not over until KFC releases a statement. The media outlet running this story is not connected with KFC. The family has not asked for anything, a attorney is handling all the media publicity for the family pro bono. Please do not believe untrue media. I have personally watched this family go without to provide for Victoria. They have not and would not do anything to hurt Victoria in any way.

It has been pointed out that the Facebook page and gofundme fundraiser were both established before the KFC event.

Investigation

Sources tell the Leader-Call that a few points in the investigation have led them to believe the incident never happened, such as surveillance videos failing to verify that the girl and her grandmother were at the location in question. There is also no record of an order of mashed potatoes and sweet tea together, despite the fact that the girl’s grandmother told the media, “I ordered a sweet tea and mashed potatoes and gravy. I sat down at the table and started feeding her and the lady came over and said that we would have to leave, because we were disturbing other customers, that Victoria’s face was disturbing other customers.” Two different locations have also been given where the incident allegedly happened.

The Leader-Call posted an image on their Facebook page showing a news headline with the word “hoax” in large letters. In the comments, the Leader-Call states, “…the family has changed the date of the “incident” as well as the location numerous times.”

KFC has said that it will honor its pledge of $30,000, even if the accusation proves to be false. The findings of the report are expected to be released this week.

Bottom Line

Although the investigation is ongoing, some news sources are stating sources close to the KFC incident claim it “never happened.”

What do you think?