Build-A-Bear Workshop employee sparks controversy by rejecting a tribute teddy bear named after assassinated conservative Charlie Kirk.
In a curious case of stuffed animal politics, a 16-year-old named Evi McCormick walked into the Build-A-Bear store at Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Washington, hoping to honor the late Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, who was tragically killed on September 10 during an event at Utah Valley University.
McCormick, a long-time admirer of Kirk’s rhetoric and charisma, customized her teddy bear with a dapper suit and a red tie, filling out the signature birth certificate with his name. “I was just mesmerized and captivated that he could speak with such elegance,” she reflected. “He was a role model.”
Yet, at the checkout counter, an unnamed employee promptly dismissed Evi’s heartfelt tribute, exclaiming, “We’re not doing this,” before tearing up the birth certificate and tossing it aside like a discarded coupon from last week’s newspaper.
McCormick recounted that she wasn’t even offered a blank sheet of paper to write the name herself. “She just didn’t agree with it. She didn’t support it and she told me, ‘We’re not doing this,’” McCormick recounted, clearly taken aback by the unexpected rejection.
Taking to Facebook to express her disappointment, McCormick stated, “Safe to say, I will not be returning, and my heart genuinely hurts,” underscoring the emotional toll of the encounter.
“Charlie Kirk is an idol to me, and to feel the hate, even onto his supporters, is so unfortunate,” she added, giving voice to the sentiment that personal tributes should transcend political divisions.
In response to the incident, Evi’s mother, Amber McCormick, reached out to Build-A-Bear corporate to report the troubling event, only to receive an initial offer of a $20 gift card as compensation—hardly the plushy embrace one might expect in such situations.
A few days later, a corporate representative reached out to extend their apologies, indicating an objective to “try to prevent this sort of situation from happening to anybody else.” While it remains unclear what “internally” means in corporate jargon, Build-A-Bear has committed to retraining staff to avoid biases that might stifle personal expressions in the future.
The fate of the controversial employee remains uncertain; her status echoes the broader question of how corporate environments manage personal beliefs in public-facing roles—certainly a costly lesson for a company that thrives on creating heartwarming memories, not political battlegrounds.
