National fast food chain WhataBurger remains in the hot seat after one of its franchises hosted bullying of a Christian employee and later fired him for releasing social media videos – on his own time and in which he left positive reviews of the food served by them – that ended in prayer and the simple phrase “Jesus loves you.”
For context, 17-year-old budding social media sensation Byron Lutz had amassed over 600,000 Tiktok followers by creating content centered around his employment at a hometown Whataburger restaurant and the sampling of its food. His videos also featured his Christian faith prominently, as he wore a large cross necklace and prayed in this videos.
While the content was widely popular, other coworkers did not take kindly to Lutz’s faith and social media prominence. No doubt motivated by jealousy, as well as an anti-Christian bias, they harassed and bullied him at work, and eventually management fired him. But, just as social media gave him a platform to share his faith, so too did it create a network to call out Whataburger for its ignominious firing of a beloved young person.
As The American Tribune reported, Lutz was known by the handle Byron Juniors World and generated a huge following for the combination of heartwarming food reviews imbued with Christian prayer. “While he is mostly known for his food reviews, what really makes him stand out from the pack is how he finishes his videos with a simple, yet profound three-word statement: ‘Jesus loves you,’” the American Tribune wrote.
Writing on X, an account likewise provided an over of what transpired, beginning with Lutz’s rise to fame and the negative backlash at his workplace to the eventual massive negative backlash faced by the corporate entity, which later included calls for boycotts.
“A WhataBurger employee in Lexington SC, was fired for posting positive social media videos about the food his restaurant was serving, he also included scripture quotes and prayers. Some employees took offense to him praising Jesus and quoting scripture, they began harassing and bullying him, this lead to Byron Hoodie being fired,” the user jnottah wrote alongside a news report of the story.
“When customers found out, they took to social media and started giving very negative reviews, ultimately causing WhataBurger headquarters to act, they terminated the employees and manager who were harassing Byron,” it continued.
The video itself indicated that the specific franchise had been closed. This has not been verified by the Christian Tribune yet, although it can be reported that the employees engaged in the harassment were let go this time, and that Lutz quickly found work at nearby fast food restaurants like Sonic.
“The Whataburger franchise that fired Byron has been shut down for the first time. WhataBurger headquarters stated that they should not have dismissed an employee who brought more benefits to the company. The incident stemmed from Byron posting positive food reviews on social media that included prayers and references to Jesus. He explained that through these reviews he hoped to share his love for Whataburger restaurants and encourage other customers to visit,” the video said.
“However, Byron’s actions drew resentment from coworkers, leading to violent threats at work and manager intervention, ultimately resulting in his dismissal. Byron later shared his experience publicly and launched a Go Fund Me campaign, seeking new employment and support. Following the incident, WhataBurger supporters flooded the restaurant with negative reviews to lower its rating and launched a boycott campaign,” it continued.
“The company stated that to mitigate the negative impact, all colleagues involved in threatening Byron and the store manager were terminated and barred from future employment with the company. This was deemed a necessary step to restore credibility and rebuild a positive image,” it finished.