Dairy Queen Franchise Closes After Owner Spews Racist Rant

An Illinois Dairy Queen location was shut down after franchisee James Crichton angrily ranted at a black customer and her children, calling them "the n-word."

Deianeira Ford of Zion, Illinois, went to a Dairy Queen drive-thru for a treat for her two children. Her order was wrong and part of it was missing, so she asked to speak with the owner. Crichton gave her a refund, and then things went south.

"He called me and my children n*****s; he said I can go back to where I came from," Ford told The Washington Post. "He took out his flip phone, and he said he would take a picture and put it on Facebook because he wants to show the world what kind of n*****s he has to deal with. Then he shut the window and walked away."

Shaken, Ford decided to call police. After the officers arrived, Crichton appeared to express no remorse nor did he attempt to defend his actions.

"Crichton boastfully told me he would be happy to go to jail over the issue and proudly admitted to calling Ford a n****r," said the police officer who responded to Ford's call. "He added that he is 'fed up with black people.'"

Since the tirade was not a criminal act, the officers could not arrest Crichton. However, Ford posted her story on Facebook and reported the behavior to Dairy Queen's headquarters. The company promptly closed the restaurant and called Crichton's behavior "inexcusable, reprehensible, and unacceptable."

Crichton's franchise rights have been terminated.