• Wendy's mascot is known for her red pigtails, but the Canadian branch has changed her hair to gray.
  • The tweet is a response to a Canadian journalist who said her contract ended after keeping her hair gray.
  • Wendy's Canada shared the new mascot saying, "Because a star is a star regardless of hair colour."

The iconic red-headed mascot of fast-food chain Wendy's is sporting gray hair now on the company's Canadian social media sites in support of a TV journalist who lost her job after allowing her hair to go gray.

Last week, the Wendy's Canada Twitter account shared a photo of its mascot with gray hair, and updated its profile picture with the photo.

 

The tweet says, "Because a star is a star regardless of hair colour," with star emojis. The caption is followed by the hashtags #LisaLaFlamme and #NewProfilePic. Over 46,600 users have liked the tweet.

The tweet is in support of Canadian TV journalist, Lisa LaFlamme, who worked at Bell Media, one of Canada's leading media companies, for over 30 years. 

In a video statement from LaFlamme shared on her Twitter, LaFlamme said on June 29 that she was told that Bell Media was ending her contract due to a "business decision."

"I was blindsided, and am still shocked and saddened by Bell Media's decision," LaFlamme said, adding that she was asked to keep the news "confidential from my colleagues and the public," until the specifics of the decision were resolved.

 

"At 58, I still thought I'd have a lot more time to tell more of the stories that impact our daily lives," LaFlamme said. "Instead I leave CTV humbled by the people who put their faith in me to tell their story."

In a statement shared on LinkedIn, Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of Bell Media, addressed the criticism of the company for firing LaFlamme.

"There is certainly no denying that Lisa LaFlamme has made an important contribution to Canadian news for three decades," Bibic said. "Since Bell Media's decision to end her contract, there has been heavy criticism. The narrative has been that Lisa's age, gender or grey hair played into the decision. I am satisfied that this is not the case and wanted to make sure you heard it from me."

Bibic wrote that he couldn't say more about the company's decision to fire LaFlamme, but is "bound by a mutual separation agreement negotiated with Lisa." Bell Media is making an independent review of the situation, Bibic said.

A spokesperson for Bell Media told Insider the company will not be commenting further.

In his LinkedIn post, Bibic also addressed the leave of Michael Melling, vice president of national news, "who has been the subject of various allegations."

According to The Globe and Mail, Melling had asked about LaFlemme's gray hair, and it was him who told LaFlemme her contract with the company was ending.

"Michael is on leave effective immediately, pending the outcome of the workplace review that is proceeding," Bibic said.

Wendy's did not respond immediately to an Insider request for comment.

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