‘I was the perfect employee’: Worker says she was fired from IDG Advertising because she’s autistic. She was told ‘it’s not working out’ and got a ‘sus’ warning despite ‘glowing’ review
In a viral video, user Sami Harris (@samikatherinee) explained that she believed she was fired from her job as a copywriter not because of her performance, but because she is autistic.
@samikatherinee sorry for my duct taped filming background lol but the tea needed to be spilled. more in part 2 :) @idgadvertising #autism #neurodivergent #autismworkplace #corruptbuisness ♬ original sound - Sami Harris
"I feel traumatized," the TikToker began her video. "I feel like I just got hit by a f*cking bus."
According to Sami, a company called IDG Advertising fired her because of her autism.
"And I was the perfect employee," the woman added. "I did everything right. I got there on time. I put on my silly little neurotypical mask. I adhered to the dress code. I did my work. And then on Thursday ... I was just told that It was going to be my last day."
When the autistic worker asked why she was being fired, her former boss allegedly said, "Oh just cause it's not working out."
Sami said she then pressed her employer for a reason for the firing and asked why she was never given a warning. The answer only further infuriated the employee.
”We did give you a warning,” her superiors allegedly said. “At your 30 day check-in.”
The TikToker noted that she had found the meeting “sus” when it happened. But after asking friends and family if a check-in meeting was normal and being told she didn't have anything to worry about, she decided to ignore the feeling in her gut.
Sami also said that she received "glowing reviews" during that meeting and was asked if she had any "concerns." She says management repeatedly told her that her voice mattered at the company.
In addition to the "sus" check-in meeting, she alleges that her coworkers would gossip about her and laugh at her behind her back. She also says that she noticed her boss going into the CEO's office all the time during her last week there, but again, she told herself that she was overreacting and tried to ignore it.
“No, it turns out I have really good pattern recognition from being autistic and they were all talking shit about me in a Discord group chat,” she said, before adding, "I know this because it popped up on the operation manager's screen while he was firing me."
While she notes that California is an "at-will employment state," which means her superiors were within their rights to fire the worker no matter what the reason was, Sami was upset by her employer’s behavior.
“All my suspicions were right. I ignored all the red flags because I was grateful to be in the 15 percent of autistic people that are employed," the fired worker concluded.
The video received over 39,000 views, and commenters agreed that Sami had been wronged.
One user sympathized with the worker, saying, “You’re probably waaay better off not working there but its BS :/ it very clear that its due to discrimination and I’d be pissed too!”
"So you’re gonna sue right? There’s discrimination laws," asked another, to which Sami responded, "Yes that’s my plan! I have a friend in law school who is going to help me explore my options."
In several follow-up videos, Sami called her former place of employment toxic and spilled the tea on her former employer. Chief among her complaints was the fact that the company suffered from nepotism and that family members within the organization got preferential treatment over other employees.
Viewers of the follow-up videos applauded the TikToker's decision to stand up for herself and speak her truth.
"As an autistic person who was discriminated against at my last job, and couldn’t speak up about it bc of contracts- thank you for speaking up," another fired worker wrote.
"Love you lots & I'm always gonna speak up for us!!" the creator responded.
The Daily Dot reached out to IDG Advertising via contact from and Sami via email for further information.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘I was the perfect employee’: Worker says she was fired from IDG Advertising because she’s autistic. She was told ‘it’s not working out’ and got a ‘sus’ warning despite ‘glowing’ review appeared first on The Daily Dot.