News
Joanna Taylor
Jan 29, 2021
A sex worker claims to have been fired from her job at Taco Bell after a “God-fearing” customer complained about her working there.
It’s unclear how the customer apparently became aware that the employee, Lonna Wells, had worked as a porn actress and cam performer.
Wells, a 33-year-old woman from Newport, Arkansas, told The Daily Beastthat she was fired from the fast food chain 30 minutes before she was due to arrive for a shift, having been on the job for less than a week. She said:
“They couldn’t have even given me a heads-up, or waited until I got there to say something. I just started bawling.”
Wells also claims that she was upfront about her sex work during the hiring process and that she was assured it wouldn’t be a problem.
Taco Bell disputes Well’s story, claiming that:
“This former team member worked for a franchise location and the franchisee has informed us that the accusations made are not accurate and that she was instead terminated for violation of their policies and procedures.”
In a post on her GoFundMe page, Wells wrote that a complaint was filed with her manager:
“She used religion and Christianity to push adult work like I was Satan in a drive-thru window. Where I live in Arkansas, we are still considered the Bible belt and this type of work is frowned upon.”
Wells has reportedly been featured on Pornhub and posts adult content on OnlyFans. She says she applied for a job at Taco Bell to “make ends meet during this pandemic” because the shoots she had lined up were cancelled over health concerns.
She’s now raising money on GoFundMe to “help replace what I lost”, as well as to try to “get the Arkansas State laws changed to protect everyone from here that’s in our industry”.
Employers in Arkansas can fire their workers at will unless it’s on the basis of “age, sex, race, religion, national origin, disability or genetic information” or because a woman is pregnant or has had an abortion. Sex work is also illegal in the state.
indy100 has contacted Taco Bell for further comment.
MORE: Why the real scandal of the “outed” New York City EMT worker goes beyond sex work
Top 100
The Conversation (0)
x