A Popeyes in Washington DC shut down after food deliverer and Tiktoker blaqazzrick01 filmed a rat party taking place in the kitchen of the restaurant's 409 8th Street location (video below).
"Y'all want to see something?" he asks outside the restaurant, explaining that he delivers raw chicken to all of the Popeyes in the area. "It's this joint right here that's wild shit." Or wild rats, as it were. He's then so confident that he can capture these rats on video that he unlocks the door (the restaurant hasn't opened yet) and lets us in to see for ourselves. And yep, rats are everywhere, scampering across the floor and climbing up the walls.
The video prompted the D.C. Health Department to inspect and then immediately shut down the infested Popeyes, temporarily, according to Eater, "citing 17 violations including rat droppings."
Unfortunately, in a subsequent video, blaqazzrick01 announces that he has been suspended from his job for exposing the filth in the Popeyes kitchen. "I have been suspended from my job due to exposure of the Popeyes franchise due to a swarm of rats in the place," he writes. "I have a family and due to this incident my family will be hurt by my employer. I will not be able to afford rent, food or any other necessities to keep my home." And "Please help." (Video at bottom.)
