A Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union employee was fired Friday, one day after posting a TikTok video in which she mockingly prayed to a "MAGA God" for former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to suffer from cancer. The video sparked widespread backlash on social media and prompted calls for the Lowell, Mass.-based credit union to terminate the employee.
On Friday, Fox News reported the TikToker as Caitlyn Aguiar, who worked as an assistant vice president for the Inbound Contact Center at the $2.1 billion Jeanne D'Arc. The credit union did not disclose the employee's name or position.
The video apparently went viral soon after it was posted on Thursday morning when a person on the credit union's Facebook site asked whether Aguiar had been terminated. Bondi, 60, who was reportedly fired from the Department of Justice in April, was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer and underwent treatment.
Aguiar prayed that Bondi's cancer "be the worst case of cancer anybody's seen" and "let her have to take on the suffering." Aguiar ended the prayer by asking the "MAGA Lord Jesus, please let this be the karma that she so justly deserves."
Jeanne D'Arc stated on Thursday that it was aware of the employee's post and that her views do not reflect those of the credit union.
"We do not wish ill will toward anyone and remain focused on treating all individuals with fairness, dignity and respect," the credit union said. "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on personnel matters."
But the pressure for Jeanne D'Arc to fire Aguiar mounted throughout Thursday.
"Caitlyn Court Aguiar needs to be FIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!," one person wrote on the credit union's Facebook page.
Others threatened to close their accounts if the credit union did not fire Aguiar. The credit union currently serves nearly 102,000 members.
On Friday morning, Jeanne D'Arc confirmed the person who posted the video had been fired but did not identify the individual.
"Yesterday, we became aware of offensive comments posted on TikTok by an individual who was employed by Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union at the time of the post," the credit union said in a 10:33 a.m. Facebook post. "This conduct is inconsistent with Jeanne D'Arc's policies, Code of Ethics and core values. Jeanne D'Arc does not support or condone this behavior, or any conduct by an employee that violates our policies, values and commitment to those we serve. Although Jeanne D'Arc does not comment on personnel matters, we can confirm that the individual is no longer employed by Jeanne D'Arc."
Many people seemed to respond positively to Aguiar's termination.
"She acted on her own, I highly doubt JDCU has anything to [do] with it, nor did they have any control over what she did on her own time," one person wrote. "Don't think they should be punished or looked at any differently because of the dumb acts of someone else."
"We all have our differences, but we simply can't say things like she did," another person wrote. "Tip of my hat to you for being a responsible corporate citizen."
Peter Strozniak can be reached at peter.strozniak@arc-network.com.
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