Hooters promised a waitress a ‘Toyota’ for winning a sales contest — what she got instead made her quit and sue them
Berry quit her job and sued her former workplace after winning the contest
Should employers play pranks on employees for the sake of an April Fool's Day joke? Former Hooters server Jodee Berry didn't think so. Back in 2001, Berry was working as a server at a Hooters in Panama City Beach, Florida. The servers were given a challenge to see who could sell the most beer in a month. The winner was promised a brand new Toyota, and Berry worked hard to win the contest. However, instead of getting a new car, her boss gave her a 'toy Yoda', Bored Panda reported. Infuriated, Berry quit her job and sued her former workplace. The story was also shared on Reddit by u/4reddityo in 2025, and it has received 1,600 upvotes since.
Back in 2001, a Hooters restaurant in Florida ran a contest for its waitstaff. The prize was described to employees as a “new Toyota.” The winner, Jodee Berry, was blindfolded and led to the parking lot, where instead of a car, she was handed a Toy Yoda figurine from Star Wars.
by u/4reddityo in WorkReform
'Wordplay' prank
The Hooters manager decided to have a little fun with wordplay for April Fool's Day. Instead of an actual Toyota, he promised a 'toy Yoda,' which sounded the same. None of the servers knew it was a prank, so they worked hard to sell as many beers as possible. This could be one of the reasons why Berry was livid to the point where she sued Hooters. When she was announced as the winner, Berry expected a new car, but her manager blindfolded her, led her to the parking lot, and handed her a small package with a toy Yoda inside. Feeling misled and humiliated, she quit her job and found an attorney to sue them, despite the manager telling her it was just a silly prank.
Berry vs. Hooters
A year after the incident, Berry and Gulf Coast Wings Inc., the corporate owner of Hooters, settled the issue. In an interview with the BBC, she said, "A corporation can't lead their employees on like that. It's not good business ethics. They can't do that to people." According to Berry's lawsuit, she accused her former workplace of breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation. With David Noll as her attorney, she won the case. Even though she never publicly disclosed how much money she received from the lawsuit, Noll said that she got enough that would allow her to buy any Toyota model she wanted.
April Fool's prank at work. Yay or nay?
The Creative Group surveyed 250 marketing and advertising executives in 2010 to understand their stance on April Fool's pranks at the workplace. The majority of respondents (58%) thought April Fool's jokes were not appropriate at work, while a few (33%) thought they were somewhat okay. Only 4% of the employees believed that April Fool's pranks were appropriate. Berry's experience reflected the opinion of the majority, showing how the prank was distasteful, leading to more serious consequences.
The majority of the people in the comments were supportive of Berry and called out the manager's actions. u/lurkeroutthere called the 'prank' a fraud and commented, "Some chuckle f*ck always thinks they are clever re-discovering fraud." u/chibinoi, like many, wondered what the collectible was worth now. They wrote, "Hey, maybe that Yoda toy is worth something now to some collector. But yeah, that’s a pretty mean joke."
More on Scoop Upworthy
Manager's April Fool's Day prank backfires as employee refuses to return to work
People rally around wife who wants divorce after husband's pile of dirty dishes 'prank'
Share on Facebook
