Causes
Ellen DeGeneres In A Twitter Battle With 16-year-old Over Chicken Nuggets!
A few days ago an ardent Wendys’ chicken nuggets fan took to Twitter to address his deepest and biggest desire – to get a year’s supply of free chicken nuggets. The (now) famous nugget fanatic, 16-year-old Carter Wilkerson, tweeted to Wendy’s saying “how many re-tweets for a year of free chicken nuggets?”. Now, one would usually write/tweet/say something like and can only hope for a reply. But thanks to the power of social media, Wilkerson got a quick reply from his favourite food chain.
Wendy’s, which has been popular for being one of the quirky handles on the social media platform, was quick and it meant business as it threw a rather crazy challenge at its nugget-loving fan. It simply said, “18 million.” That’s a lot. To give you little perspective, Wilkerson would have to get a re-tweet from every single citizen in Chile to get his free nuggets. Yep, it’s a massive challenge. But did that manage to dither the 16-year-old from his mission? No. Willing to do whatever it takes to get those free nuggets, Wilkerson wrote back, “Consider it done.”
HELP ME PLEASE. A MAN NEEDS HIS NUGGS pic.twitter.com/4SrfHmEMo3
— Carter Wilkerson (@carterjwm) April 6, 2017
Carter then started the 18 million journey of April 6th as he tweeted a picture of this mini tweet-versation. 9 days down, the teen has managed to garner a whopping 2.9 million re-tweets and the numbers are only rising, and the tweet may soon break the record for the most re-tweeted tweet on Twitter. But here’s what happened in the process. The most re-tweeted tweet record is currently held by Ellen DeGeneres’ star-studded Oscar selfie with 3.3 million re-tweets, and DeGeneres is in no mood to give up the tittle to the “nugget boy”.
Take a look at her and Bradley Cooper (who took the selfie) appeal to save her tweet from losing the title in the video below.
But Wendy’s was not having any of the celebrity dazzle, and tweeted this to support the nugget boy.
Bradley Cooper? He doesn’t even have a Twitter. Don’t let him keep @carterjwm from his nuggs. #NuggsForCarter https://t.co/RkG6kARNEw
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) April 14, 2017
But jokes apart, the fast food chain may have to give away a year’s supply of chicken nuggets for free, but it will also do its bit for the society by clubbing the nugget challenge with charity. Wendy’s will donate a sum of $100k to The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption if and when Carter Wilkerman breaks Ellen DeGeneres’ re-tweet record.
The rumors are true @TheEllenShow! We’ll donate $100k to @DTFA supporting adoption WHEN @carterjwm breaks your RT record. #NuggsforCarter https://t.co/iI1OdIjTb7
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) April 13, 2017
So maybe, the nugget boy is upto a good cause after all!
[Updated on 21st April 2017]
16-year-old Carter Wilkerson gave rise to a massive social media uproar when he step out on a journey to garner 18 million retweets in order to have access to a year’s worth of free chicken nuggets from Wendy’s. The teenager got the extra mileage when TV host Ellen DeGeneres and Bradley Cooper weighed in on the matter to make a PSA announcement, saying: “We earned this title and we’re not going to lose it now.” But if anything, the two just brought Wilkerson even more into the spotlight.
But it looks like Ellen believes in keeping her enemies closer. The popular talk show host had the (now) famous nugget fanatic Carter Wilkerson on her show on Tuesday and didn’t let go of a single chance of bombarding the kid with lucrative offers and hilarious warnings!
DeGeneres had the popular Oscars selfie up on her studio screen and pointed to it, saying, “This is being threatened. This is a cultural phenomenon that I have right there. Look at Lupita Nyong’o’s brother who we don’t even know who he is, he’s in it. This is something that you can’t break down.”
She then went on to strike a deal with him saying, “I want people to retweet you, but when they retweet him, you must retweet my selfie as well,” and she gave him the incentive of a 55-inch TCL Roku 4k TV and a year’s supply of her famous Ellen underwear. The nugget loving teen, who now runs the website nuggsforcarter.com, says his Twitter following went from about 150 people to more than 67,000 and counting since he first tweeted Wendy’s on April 5. He also answered the million dollar question of why he was trying to “sabotage Ellen’s selfie”. Nugget boy gave the most relatable and honest reply: “I just want chicken nuggets. I just have a love for the chicken nuggets.”
“If somehow you pass me Carter, I will come to your house, I will take that TV back, I will take the underwear back and do more,” she joked. “If you get 18 million somehow, by some miracle, you get 18 million, I’ll have another gift for you, but you can’t pass me, I have to be above that.”
As of now, Ellen’s Oscar groupfie has garnered a massive 3.4 million (shooting up from its previous 3.1 million) retweets while Wilkerson is quickly closing in with a whopping 3.2 million retweets for his nugget tweet. So we shall wait and watch whether Carter takes home the TV and underwear or free nuggets!
Feature Image: Too Fab