Brad Boynton is a former Amazon employee from North Carolina who was captured on a viral video berating an Amazon delivery driver named Nikolas Mayrant.
Daily Mail reported that Boynton is accused of calling Mayrant a racial slur when Mayrant delivered a package to him in Cornelius, North Carolina.
However, according to Daily Mail, Amazon denies Boynton used the racial slur, saying that he instead said the words, “Nader, Nader,” because he was speaking to someone on the phone whose name was Nader. Amazon told Daily Mail that Boynton was fired and, contrary to information on social media, Mayrant was not fired and still works for Amazon.
“We were deeply concerned by what we observed in the video and opened an investigation into the incident,” an Amazon spokesperson said, according to Daily Mail. “After speaking with both parties and working quickly to understand exactly what transpired, we took immediate action. We do not condone bullying or harassing behavior of any type and as a result of our investigation, we’ve terminated the individual shown bullying our delivery partner.”
Boynton’s LinkedIn page is now deleted. However, a Google cache version of the page shows his title as “Brad Boynton – Program Manager, Key Initiatives – Amazon.”
The video first went viral after being posted on Reddit.
Online records show that Boynton, 40, lives in North Carolina and has ties to Virginia.
Here’s what you need to know:
Mayrant’s Sister Shared the Video on Instagram
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Heather Rose, Mayrant’s sister, also shared the video on Instagram. She captioned it:
I know racism is still alive, mean I see it all the time on the internet & it hurts me then, but it’s a little more heart breaking & shocking to see when it’s my blood brother. Anyone who knows my brother knows he is the most quiet person & stays to hisself! Yesterday while on the job for @amazon he was delivering a package to this man in Cornelius, Carolina. He begun to take pics of my brother and calling Amazon filing a complaint. We later found out it was Because the man didn’t like the way he parked his @amazon truck. My brother asked him why the pictures, because it’s never happened to him. So as he’s on the phone with his Amazon colleague friend (who thought it was acceptable to call him a N-g** as well) He begins to curse him out & call him a N-g**multiple times. My brother was FIRED from his job for askin the guy why the pics & walkin on his grass after he called him a N-g**. I don’t know what to do in this case. I’m just so happy my brother decided to keep walkin & didn’t lash out. He probably wouldnt be here to today over an Amazon package!!! So I’m askin y’all to point me in the right direction of people who could help. My brother is now out of a job with a brand new car and apartment! I’ve called Amazon 100 times making a complaint, I’m asking that you do the same. Or tell me something better I can do!!!
The Video Was Also Shared on Reddit
The original video, posted to Reddit, read, “🚨Please Spread This🚨 While delivering packages for Amazon DLT 3 (Concord, NC) my boyfriend was berated by this customer, Brad Boynton. At the end of the video, you can clearly hear the customer call Nikolas a ‘n*****.’ Nik is suspended because Brad is a friend of a manager.”
In the video, Boynton can be heard saying, “I’ve told you seven times, walk the f*** away. Dude, on the grass dude, seriously. Do you not know any of the f****** policies.” He then says what some believe is the n-word (and Amazon says is the word “Nader”) twice. Mayrant can be heard responding to Boynton in what sounds like an agitated tone, but his words are more difficult to decipher, as he’s farther away from the camera and walking away while he’s talking. The video is only 12 seconds long, and it’s from a Ring doorbell camera.
According to Daily Mail, it’s believed Boynton was talking to another Amazon manager on the phone to complain about Mayrant’s delivery. Rose’s post indicates Boynton first took issue with the way Mayrant parked.
People expressed empathy for Mayrant in a Reddit comment thread, with one writing, “I wouldn’t want to even work there anymore ! I would try to take legal action because obviously they don’t defend their own employees Smfh.”
@AttorneyCrump A lot of what’s being said about this is incorrect. The driver was never fired — he’s still delivering packages for Amazon, and the person who bullied the driver was let go. We aren’t OK with bullying or harassing behavior of any kind.
Well-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump also weighed in on Twitter, writing, “This is unacceptable! A Black Amazon driver was FIRED from his job after a neighborhood resident called him racial slurs & harassed him while taking photos of him. Why was this young man terminated when he was the victim of this shameful harassment?!” But, again, Amazon told Daily Mail that Boynton did not use a racial slur and that Mayrant was not terminated.
Amazon’s own verified Twitter account responded to Crump’s tweet with a correction and clarification of company policies. Some responses to Crump’s tweet indicate not everyone was ready to jump to Mayrant’s defense or to condemn Boynton.
One person wrote, “We DO need to see the entire video to clear the driver. The man said he told him 7 times to walk away. Why? What caused the driver to keep returning to engage with this man? Even if the man started out of nowhere with the racial slurs, the employee should not have engaged!”
Another commented, “Neither’s behavior is excusable we must be accountable for our response & reaction. This video is insufficient. 1 what was the initial cause of the confrontation. 2 how do you know the white guy works for Amazon because he mentioned policies? 3 if so he must be fired as well.”
Heavy has reached out to Amazon for more details.
An online search for Boynton lists him as the organizer of a GoFundMe campaign to help a local veteran who walked five miles a day to work to support his kids. That GoFundMe says that Boynton served with the man in the 101st Airborne Division.
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