McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski expressed contrition following a backlash over comments where he said the parents were to blame for the fatal shooting of two children.
One of the incidents happened outside a McDonald’s restaurant.
The remarks were contained in text messages sent to Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot in April.
In the messages, Mr Kempczinski blamed the parents of Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old Hispanic boy, and Jaslyn Adams, a seven-year-old African-American girl, for their deaths.
“With both, the parents failed those kids which I know is something you can’t say. Even harder to fix,” Mr Kempczinski said in a text message to Ms Lightfoot.
The text message was sent the day after the fatal shooting of Jaslyn Adams in the drive-through lane at a McDonald’s restaurant in the city's West Side.
Adam Toledo was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer in Chicago’s Little Village. Video footage of the incident shows the boy had his hands up in the air when he was shot.
Responding to Mr Kempczinski’s message, Mr Lightfoot texted: “Thanks, Chris. Great to see you in person. Such a great work space and your folks were terrific. I said to Joe I would be happy [to] reach out to the operator to offer support. He and his team members have got to be traumatized. Terrible tragedy. Thanks again, Chris.”
The text messages were revealed after a Freedom of Information Act request was filed by activists.
McDonald’s employers and activities protested outside the McDonald’s headquarters in Illinois on Wednesday Chicago local time (Thursday Australia AEDT).
In an open letter, 12 activist groups - including the Movement for Black Lives - criticised the remarks by Mr Kempczinski and called for an end to "rotten, racist culture".
“It’s clear to us you’re the one who has failed here,” the open letter said.
“Your text message was ignorant, racist and unacceptable coming from anyone, let alone the CEO of McDonald’s, a company that spends big money to market to communities of color and purports to stand with Black lives.”
“Your offensive comments at least provide some insight into why McDonald’s has failed to address its rotten, racist culture under your leadership,” the letter said.
In a note to the company’s US employees, Mr Kempczinski said it was wrong of him not to consider the perspective of the families of Adam Toledo and Jaslyn Adams.
"When I wrote this, I was thinking through my lens as a parent and reacted viscerally. But I have not walked in the shoes of Adam’s or Jaslyn’s family and so many others who are facing a very different reality,” he said.
“Not taking the time to think about this from their viewpoint was wrong and lacked the empathy and compassion I feel for these families. This is a lesson that I will carry with me.”
