A woman says HR escorted her out without a single reason for firing her, then the company emailed the next day asking for her iPhone passcode

A Kentucky woman says her former employer fired her without giving a concrete reason, then emailed her the very next day asking for help unlocking the company phone she had handed back. Gracie, who posts as @underscoregracie, shared the email in a TikTok video that has drawn hundreds of thousands of views. She says she has no plans to reply.

In the video, Gracie says the company could not point to her performance or to any mistake she made. The only explanation she says she got was that she was “not a good fit.” She also claims she was not allowed to collect her personal belongings before HR escorted her out of the building, and the email arrived the following day.

The message, which appears on screen behind her, asks for help getting the company-issued iPhone she returned back into service. The company wrote that it could not unlock or reset the phone, as device management had been removed when it was set up with a new Apple ID. The email then asks for the four-digit passcode and the password for the Apple ID.

Gracie says the phone was something the company should have figured out before firing her

Gracie told viewers she did not respond, as she no longer works for the company and is not on its payroll. She admitted she was being petty. However, she said her former employer did not let her leave “with any sense of dignity.” The phone problem, she added, is something the company should have sorted out before letting her go.

Plenty of viewers backed her decision. One suggested she offer her services as an independent contractor at “$100/hr (2hr minimum),” while another told her to send an invoice from her “consulting firm” at $5,000 an hour. Others said they would have left the company on read too, and one told her to just make the company set up a new account.

Some commenters took a more practical view. A couple of them pointed out that employers in at-will states do not need to give a reason for letting someone go. However, one commenter who said they work in IT told her not to reply at all. That viewer explained that a company that owns the device can ask Apple to remove it from her Apple ID and reset it.

Her video also drew stories from people who had been through something similar. One commenter said a former employer laid them off and then asked, a week later, for access to a Google Sheet they had built on a personal account. Gracie’s video joins a run of firing stories on the app, including one from an Alabama woman who says TikToks got her fired.

In a follow-up video, Gracie said the company ended up shipping her belongings to her house. She added that she still has not answered the email and does not believe she is obligated to. The TikToker also said several IT professionals told her the company should be able to recover the phone, even if it takes a few extra steps without her help.

Some viewers warned that the company could take legal action over the phone, though Gracie said she does not believe that is true now that she is off the payroll.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the employer’s side of the story, as this account originates solely from Gracie’s TikTok video.