Former Heart Attack Grill hostess says she was forced to video passed out customer

Feb. 15, 2012: Pedestrians pass by the Heart Attack Grill on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Just days after a Las Vegas-based restaurateur known for serving fat-laden burgers unapologetically announced that his food kills people,  a person claiming to be a former hostess at the Heart Attack Grill charged that her manager once made her record a video of a man who passed out “so they could send it to the media.”

According to a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) Tuesday, a person claiming to be an ex-hostess --who wasn't named --said that the work environment was "extremely unorthodox, unprofessional, and chaotic.”  Pictures of the person claiming to be the ex-hostess posted to prove employment have since been removed as well as the person's user name.

In the post, the ex-hostess claims that in the summer of 2012 she was told by her manager to record a video after a customer passed out in the restaurant.

"At one point, the man passed out. I heard him knock onto the hard ground. We had to call an ambulance. A manager made me take out my cell phone to record a video of the whole thing, so they could send it to the media. It was on a Friday afternoon, and he hoped it would make the news so they could have a busy weekend. The food may or may not have been responsible for what happened to that man," read the Reddit post.

Representatives from the Heart Attack Grill could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The Heart Attack Grill has been in the media spotlight many times.  It proudly serves up an 8,000-calorie Quadruple Bypass Burger, cooks its Flatliner Fries in pure lard and serves milkshakes touted to contain the highest butter fat content in the world.  The restaurant looks like a hospital, where customers are “patients.” Waitresses, dressed as sexy “nurses,” administer food as “prescriptions,” and customers weighing over 350 pounds are offered a free meal. Those who don't finish their meals are spanked with paddles.

Earlier this year an unofficial spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill died of a heart attack.  This incident followed another unofficial spokesman, who weighed 575-pounds, who died of flu-related pneumonia two years earlier. In February 2012, a man was stricken with a heart attack while eating a Triple Bypass Burger.  Two months later, a woman was similarly stricken while eating a Double Bypass Burger.  It is unclear if their situations were related to the food.

Last week, Jon Basso, the founder and owner of Heart Attack Grill, appeared on Bloomberg Television unapologetically announcing that his food kills people. "I am probably the only restaurateur in the entire world who is unapologetically telling you that my food is bad for you, that it will kill you and that you should stay away from it," he said.

In the interview, he placed a clear plastic bag filled with a powder-like substance, saying: “I’m here with the cremated remains of someone who died at my restaurant. He died of a heart-attack at my restaurant, and I’m putting the bag  clearly on the table. I wish that Burger King, McDonalds, and everyone else would do the same thing.”

Fast-food companies, such as Burger King and McDonald's are offering healthier options on their menus to appeal to a more health-conscious public.

But Basso says fast food is unhealthy. "I want to wake up one morning and open the door and have no one ever come in again, because maybe the world would have learned the truth."

So is this all just a marketing ploy? Let us know what you think.