Recently, many TikTokers said they’ve been fired thanks to their posting about their jobs on the platform. The latest to join this slew of retail employees is creator Tony Cortez, who says he was fired from T-Mobile for sharing stories about the phone company.
Cortez, who posts under the username @therealogtony on TikTok, used his account to share content almost exclusively about his job at T-Mobile. Cortez’s TikToks were frequently about T-Mobile’s offers, but often appears to be in a mocking tone, seemingly agreeing with his viewers, who commented about how scammy they can feel.
@therealogtony #fyp #tmobile ♬ original sound – ClubHouseVideos
One of those TikToks, posted on May 6, has over a million views.
He wrote that this TikTok, where Cortez jokes about needing to sell “free tablets” in order to keep his job, got him fired. The post appears to imply T-Mobile employees are expected to push the deal as much as possible.
According to T-Mobile’s website, customers can get a free tablet after purchasing it on a monthly payment plan, paying the sales tax, and activating a new line for a mobile internet plan for use with the device. The customer then receives back the money via 24 monthly bill credits. Many feel the way it’s advertised, as free, is wildly misleading.
In his videos, Cortez often appears to wink and nod about the “free” nature of the tablets.
But he replied to a viewer via a comment that his posts weren’t against company policy and said he “made sure to read all their [social media] guidelines.”
@therealogtony #fyp #tmobile ♬ mrs right – hi
However, he also said his boss asked him to delete his TikToks or told him he would be let go. It appears that’s exactly what happened. On June 3, Cortez posted about being fired.
@therealogtony If anybodys hiring lmk 🥲🙃📲 #tmobile #fyp ♬ the joke is on you. icarly – Kate
“Made a TikTok account about T-Mobile because I love my job and want them to flourish,” the first part of the overlay text reads. “Gets fired for it,” he added in the second clip of him dancing. “If anybody’s hiring lmk [let me know],” he added in the caption.
Since he said he’s been let go, he’s gone even further in on T-Mobile’s offers.
“The FREE TABLETS don’t even come close to these heinous actions of lies and deceit,” another video’s overlay text reads.
@therealogtony Yo if your out there♦️@♦️marketing team let’s make a deal 😈😏 #fyp #tmobile #verizon #att ♬ original sound – batrick pateman 🐺
Cortez’s video about his dismissal have been viewed more than 20,000 times, with many users coming to his defense.
“& for that reason I canceled my @tmobile account & went to @verizon,” one user commented.
“idk if this is true but I made this my 13th reason and went in and canceled,” another viewer wrote.
Cortez clarified in the comments section that his district manager told his manager to fire him.
In a statement to the Daily Dot, Cortez said it was his free tablet TikTok that got him in trouble and that “corporate” asked it be taken down.
“I then told [my manager] working on my TikTok and getting paid through it was my dream and he would be stripping my dream away, I could take down anything they felt crossed the social media guidelines (which in fact none of them did.) Their response was take down everything with T-Mobile.”
“Some videos obviously kind of joked about the fact of the free tablets but not in intent to defame the company. [The] jokes were meant in order to explain that the tablets were free with slight conditions in order to promote the company and sell more for them. Ideally, so they would see my account and I would possibly get a job full-time marketing.”
Cortez added his dream was to run T-Mobile’s TikTok, but they “cut my dreams” short
The Daily Dot has reached out toT-Mobile via email for this story.
This story has been updated with comment from Cortez.
Today’s top stories
| ‘Fill her up’: Bartender gives woman a glass of water when the man she’s with orders tequila shot |
| ‘I don’t think my store has even sold one’: Whataburger employees take picture with first customer who bought a burger box |
| ‘It was a template used by anyone in the company’: Travel agent’s ‘condescending’ out-of-office email reply sparks debate |
| Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online. |