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Build-A-Bear Apologizes After Teen Says Store Refused 'Charlie Kirk' Name on Bear

The company pledged internal action with staff retraining to keep politics out of stores.

Overview

  • Sixteen-year-old Evi McCormick says a Southcenter Mall employee refused to print 'Charlie Kirk' on her bear’s birth certificate and threw the certificate away.
  • The teen says she handed her payment card to a friend and walked away from the register after the exchange.
  • Build-A-Bear initially offered the family a $20 gift card before following up days later with a phone apology.
  • Corporate told reporters the incident should not have happened and committed to retraining staff in Seattle and nationwide.
  • A sign at the Tukwila store discourages 'indecent or distasteful' names, and the on-site manager referred questions to corporate when visited by KING 5.