KFC Hoax: Family Denies They Lied, Insists They Were Asked To Leave Restaurant

The family at the center of a national firestorm over allegations that it made up a story about being asked to leave a KFC restaurant in Jackson, Miss., is standing by their story and insisting that the incident happened as originally reported.

The controversy hit a fever pitch Tuesday morning (June 24) after the Laurel Leader-Call released a story poking holes through many of the claims made by he grandmother of pit bull attack victim, 3-year-old Victoria Wilcher.

In the story, the paper spoke with an anonymous source who said not only was the restaurant initially claimed to have asked the family to leave no longer open for business, but the other two restaurants near a hospital where Wilcher is being treated for her wounds have no record of the family having been there. Both security camera footage and point of sale records were apparently used in an investigation by KFC while it tried to verify the family’s claims.

WAPT-TV 16 in Jackson posted a message from the family that appeared on Facebook after reports began to surface that the grandmother, Kelly Mullins, may have fabricated the whole thing. This is what the family had to say:

“I promise it’s 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 itself says 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. An 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.”

While it may be true that the family has gone without in the past in order to provide for Wilcher’s medical care, since the story made headlines in recent weeks, donations have been pouring in. KFC pledged $30,000 to help cover medical expenses for Wilcher. In all, the New York Daily News reports donations in excess of $130,000 since the news broke about the alleged request to leave the KFC.

KFC has committed to the $30,000 donation to help cover her medical expenses regardless of how an investigation the company is conducting turns out. As for the other donations, there is no word on what could happen to the money if the Leader-Call‘s reported allegations of a hoax turn out to be true.

To read more about the hoax allegations, click on over to the original article that ran early this morning.

And what do you think should happen if this turns out to be a hoax? Should Mullins be held accountable?