Majdi Wadi, the CEO of Holy Land, a chain of gourmet grocery and deli chains, has fired his daughter after her racist social media posts from years ago resurfaced recently online.
Lianne Wadi posted multiple tweets using racial slurs and tweets insulting Black, Jewish, and gay people. Lianne also retweeted a parody Hitler Twitter account and said in a tweet: “I’m discovering my new love for Mormons… just kidding Hitler all the way.”
Since her firing, Lianna has since apologized, saying in an Instagram post, “I would like to thank the individuals who have brought a previous post from my past to my attention. I am deeply mortified and disgusted by my prior statements. I would like to start by saying it is unacceptable, and I deeply and sincerely apologize.”
Majdi addressed his decision to fire his daughter in a Facebook post, proclaiming, “It has come to our attention that a team member of the Holy Land posted racial slurs onto social media prior to beginning employment with us. We were not aware of these posts. As a business that was formed by immigrants, we do not tolerate this type of behavior because it is completely against our beliefs and faith.”
However, despite the firing and the apologies, Midtown Global Market, where Holy Land was a vendor, made the decision to terminate Holy Land’s lease.
On Thursday, Lianne also offered another apology to Minnesota’s WCCO.
“I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart. They were such, like, horrible and vile things, and that’s not who I am. It’s not what I believe in. Those statements were made a long time ago, and like I was in a different place in my life. They in no way, shape, or form reflect who I am as a person today.”
Majdi assured that he would be implementing additional diversity training and educational courses to his employees in an effort “to ensure all our team members possess knowledge of what is and is not insensitive, offensive, and appropriate for all races, cultures, and religions.”
Minneapolis has bore the brunt of the Black Lives Matter protests over the past week following the death of George Floyd, who was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin, who firmly placed his knee against Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes, as bystanders looked on.
