Mom, son and his friends fired from Burger King after hiring photo goes viral

A Mississippi mom thought she was doing the right thing when she got her 15-year-old son and his friends a job at the Burger King she managed.

But in a twist that has rocked the small city of Clinton, 12 miles from Jackson, all five of them have been fired.

The sackings come amid accusations of nepotism - with fast food bosses saying Shakayla Dixon abused her position as manager and paid her son Corderrion Valentine too much money.

Dixon told local news she hired him and his friends to keep them off the streets while also allowing them to earn money over the summer holiday.

Valentine agreed with his mom that it had kept him from getting into trouble.

'I felt like it was a good thing because we could have really been out doing violence or shooting or killing, but we went out and worked,' he said, referring to the widespread violent crime in the metro.

Until recently Shakayla Dixon managed the Burger King in Clinton, a small city just 12 miles from Jackson.

She hired the four boys at the start of the summer holidays.  

At first Dixon's plan seemed to work well and she even posted a celebratory picture of the four teenagers working in the kitchen to Facebook.

The post went viral and was even picked up by comedian and TV host Nick Cannon, who put the image on his Instagram page with the caption: 'Staying out of trouble, and getting the bag the right way! This is how it's done kings.'

However, Dixon claims she was soon called by her area manager and district leader who raised some concerns.

'The concerns were the fact that Corderrion is my son and how much money they were getting paid,' she told WLBT.

'She told me that a minor is supposed to get paid differently than what an adult gets paid.' she explained.

'It was never brought to my attention beforehand.'

Valentine told the outlet he was devastated to have lost his summer job.

'I felt like it was a good thing because we could have really been out doing violence or shooting or killing, but we went out and worked,' he said, referring to the widespread violent crime in the metro.

'I felt like it was a fun experience to get you ready for the real world.'

However, he is still hopeful that his efforts to get a job and stay off the streets will serve as a good example to other kids.

'I hope that it portrayed a lot of people to do things good and stop the violence,' he said.

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