Selena: The Series actor Hunter Reese Peña candidly shared their experience working at Chipotle and being fired as a result of “not smiling.” Their past working at a fast-food chain encouraged other employees to share similar stories. The TV star has since opened up to Bored Panda about their professional transition into showbiz, highlighting their Latinx identity and the social injustices they have observed.
Taking to their Instagram Threads page on June 6, Hunter, who identifies as gender-fluid and uses they/them pronouns, recalled the only time they ever lost a job.
“I was a nerd, I read the entire employee guide in an effort to do a good job,” they wrote. “A month into being there, the regional manager came in & interviewed everyone.”
They continued: “He asked me if I had concerns. I said I had 2 (not realizing this was unlikable).
“My concerns: 1. we counted tips off the clock (against guide book) 2. the men in the kitchen would come out & stare at hot women & say gross things in Spanish.
“2 days later I was fired for not smiling enough.”
Hunter later clarified that their primary concerns were the discomfort of the female customers being “ogled” at — and the unpaid labor of their fellow @Chipotle employees.
“I still think my concerns were valid, and […] I was retaliated against in a very toxic way,” the California native of Mexican heritage stated.
Selena: The Series actor Hunter Reese Peña candidly shared their experience working at Chipotle
Following their viral initial Threads post, which received over 13,500 likes, Hunter added: “Also kinda made me wonder if Chipotle actually cares about unpaid labor & making female customers feel safe.”
Hunter’s post resonated with a handful of people, as a person commented: “I had an interview at @Chipotle because they were urgently hiring, supposedly.
“I was 30 and the manager said we usually only hire people in their early 20’s.
“She then proceeded to say that they might need my help at another location and that she’d call around to ask if they could use someone of a mature age.
“She ended the interview and walked away from me.”
The reactions weren’t limited to Chipotle employees, as an Instagram user wrote: “I was ‘let go’ from a winery job a few years ago. Small company, was hired as a part-time hostess.
“5-6 months into working there, the manager calls me the day before my schedule is supposed to be posted and says, ‘omg I completely forgot your last day was Friday!’ (2 days before).
“I said, ‘huh?’ To which she replied, ‘Oh yeah! Because you were seasonal.’ As a cover-up.
“That bit was never discussed nor put on any paperwork, so… pretty convenient.”
A separate individual chimed in: “I was fired from a job because I have a chronic illness and ended up in hospital.
“They forgot that I have a note on file and a risk assessment for this chronic illness, so fired me because I ended up in hospital and didn’t give them enough notice for missing my shift when I was in fact blue lighted into the hospital 1 hour before I was due to start.”
Hunter revealed that they were fired as a result of “not smiling”
Hunter, who notably portrayed Ricky Vela in the 2020-2021 Netflix show Selena: The Series, was just randomly “oversharing” on social media, completely unsuspecting that their Instagram Threads would amass over 16 million views.
“Honestly, I almost deleted it an hour after posting it,” they recalled. “I was worried that it was too negative. But I’m glad I kept it up because of all the stories people shared and the conversations we had about the unfair treatment of workers in the United States, particularly women.”
The actor felt a personal connection to the people responding to their online rant. Prior to breaking into Hollywood, Hunter applied to work at Chipotle nearly a decade ago “because [they were] desperate for money and didn’t have any other choice.”
Following their termination from the Mexican grill, Hunter spent their unemployment compensation on acting classes, which ultimately played a pivotal role in their career.
“That moment is a great example of turning bad luck into good luck,” they told Bored Panda in an email.
After years of auditioning, taking acting classes, doing odd jobs, and, at times, choosing to skip meals, Hunter landed a role on Moisés Zamora’s show based on the Queen of Tejano Music, Selena Quintanilla, which featured The Walking Dead star Christian Serratos as its protagonist.
Nevertheless, Hunter’s experiences working low-wage jobs prior to their fame left a lasting impact on their personality.
“Most of my time and energy went into surviving,” they admitted. “But I started to change my mindset. I didn’t want to feel defeated by my circumstances.”
While being forced to occasionally fast, Hunter would cope with the hunger using meditation. “It led to huge shifts in my mindset and was the beginning of a lot of positive growth for me, [which] brought me closer to my dreams.”
Hunter’s past working at a fast-food chain encouraged other employees to share similar stories
The LGBTQ+ advocate, who has over 35,400 followers on Instagram, persevered, as they recounted: “I didn’t feel like I had a choice. Giving up felt like a death sentence to me. LOL.
“I know that sounds dramatic, but I’m very passionate. Every day that I don’t pursue my dreams feels like agony to me.”
The actor acknowledged the ebb and flow of life’s challenges, admitting that nothing motivated them more than “a good rock bottom.”
Hunter exemplified their upbeat attitude with one of their Threads commenters, who was also fired from their job in the service industry for “not smiling” while being homeless.
“But it led to her going back to school, finishing her degree, marrying the love of her life, and buying a house,” they noted.
The occasional drag artist’s job at Chipotle taught them to protect their mental health at all costs, stating: “Sometimes, we sacrifice our inner peace in exchange for a paycheck, but the cost of doing that long term is too great.”
The actor used the topic of self-care to point to another person who stood out in their viral Instagram Threads. A woman had written about being sacked from a mental health office for taking two days off for her birthday.
“You’d think a mental health office would’ve been better equipped to honor a mental health break,” Hunter critiqued. “But it’s a sad reality in the United States. As workers, we need to demand protections, fair compensation, and appropriate vacation time.”
28 million Americans do not get any paid vacation or paid holidays, Forbes reported in 2023. Moreover, the USA is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation days and paid holidays.
According to the American business magazine, nearly a third (31%) of US employees do not have access to paid time off (PTO).
Hunter has since opened up to Bored Panda about their professional transition into showbiz
Landing their first major role on TV took four months of labor, in which they almost lost out on their Selena industry-breaking part.
Hunter recalled: “In July 2019, I wrote down the wrong day for the audition and missed it.
“As soon as I found out, I drove to the office and got there late.
“They were hesitant about letting me audition but ended up allowing me [to]—but they only gave me one take. I had a callback audition two months later.”
The excitement was short-lived, as the part was given to someone else. But what is meant to be will be. “Two weeks later, I got the call. And I wasn’t surprised. But I was very happy.”
In 2021, Netflix announced that Selena had been watched by 25 million households for the first 28 days after its debut – that’s millions of people seeing Hunter’s face on their screens.
Hunter, who identifies as Latinx (the gender-neutral alternative to Latina or Latino), recognized the importance of the visibility they had become responsible for. In fact, they would now like to use their platform for good.
“I’d love to be a motivational speaker at some point,” the actor explained. “I’m intersectional. I’m Latinx, LGBTQ+ (queer and genderfluid), plus-size, and a first-generation American (child of previously undocumented Mexican immigrants).”
Compared with other minorities, Latinos are the most underrepresented group in Hollywood in above-the-line film roles, McKinsey & Company states. Latinos account for just 4% of lead or co-lead roles in US films, with similarly limited off-screen representation in director, producer, and writer roles.
“I have so many things ‘working against me,’ but I’ve found ways to make them my strength[s],” Hunter confessed. “I know that type of thinking is contagious, and I’d love to have an opportunity to uplift and motivate people like me to pursue their dreams—regardless of what society tells them is ‘working against them.’”
They highlighted their Latinx identity and the social injustices they have observed
Two years ago, Hunter attended the premiere of the TV series Queer As Folk in drag, a groundbreaking moment that followed their coming out as a genderfluid individual.
In 2022, they were selected as a featured creator for Instagram’s Latinx program Dale Tú, and they took the opportunity to express their gender identity.
“I came out because I’ve had gynecomastia since the 7th grade,” Hunter revealed. “Gynecomastia is when someone born male develops breast tissue.
“I had so much shame about that and spent my whole life hiding it. Coming out was the first step I needed to take to escape that shame.”
Determined to encourage others to also follow their dreams, just like they did, Hunter urged: “Stop waiting. Do it now. You have permission.
“Get ready for a bumpy ride. Don’t give up.
“You’ll regret it if you don’t at least try. Do it for the story.
“When you’re 80, telling someone about the life you lived, what kind of life do you want to describe? Do that.”
Bored Panda has contacted Chipotle for comment.
People continued to share their own negative experiences with their work
