By Rachael O'ConnorShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberKFC has apologized to a woman after one of its official accounts appeared to mock her speech impediment.
Jessie Yendle is from Wales in the United Kingdom, and a campaigner for awareness of speech impediments, having a stammer herself.
The Let's Talk author has now received an apology from the fast-food chain, after an official Instagram for KFC North Macedonia shared a video appearing to mock her stammer.
In the video, reportedly viewed 4 million times before it was deleted, Yendle was shown trying to pronounce a word through a stammer. It then switched to having an electronic dance beat, and images of KFC products.
The video of Yendle had become a social media trend, with people combining the video of the campaigner with the music and something to do with their brand. Yendle had previously received apologies from soccer team Borussia Dortmund, and triathlon organizer Ironman, for creating similar videos.
As the KFC video went viral, Yendle told the BBC that she was "really disappointed that this has happened again," adding: "I'm not my speech impediments, I'm so much more than that."
"I've been raising awareness on the internet for four years and my platform has given me a voice," Yendle, who has a large following on her @mimidarlingbeauty Instagram account, said.
In a statement to Newsweek, a KFC spokesperson said the company was "truly sorry that this happened, and we have reached out directly to Jessica to apologize for the hurt she has experienced.
"Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and mocking someone for their stammer is simply wrong. We want to make clear that this behavior is totally unacceptable and is not tolerated at KFC. Every person who walks through our doors should feel welcome, valued and safe to be themselves."
The spokesperson said they have contacted UK stammer charity Stamma, "and we are looking at how we can work with them to make sure every voice is heard and appreciated at KFC.
"Our franchisee partner at KFC North Macedonia is also looking into how they can include this training locally and also contacted Jessie to apologize to her for the post and the hurt that was caused."
...Yendle also appeared on U.K. morning news show Good Morning Britain, where she said the video had been seen more than 4 million times before it was removed, which "breaks my heart," and "I don't think they've realized the true damage that they've done."
"It's gone too far now," she told the show. "It really has."
Stammering, also known as stuttering, is relatively common in childhood, but can persist into adulthood. Those with the speech impediment can repeat sounds or syllables, make longer sounds, or get stuck on a word or sound.
Newsweek has contacted Jessie Yendle via Instagram for comment on this story.
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