The rumored story of controversial country music singer Jason Aldean not leaving a tip after ordering 65 Burritos in ‘small town’ Charleston, West Virginia, has gone viral. But is there any truth to it?

“Remember when @Jason_Aldean came to small town Charleston, WV, ordered 65 burritos from a local joint ten minutes before close and didn’t tip anyone? Then his team reached out after the story went viral and the employees got let go? Try that in a small town,” Twitter user @NolanASITD posted on social media on July 20, 2023.

Since then the tweet has garnered 24,000 likes. A screenshot of the tweet has also gone viral on TikTok, Reddit.

Aldean recently made headlines after the Country Music Television (CMT) network pulled music video for his song, ‘Try That in a Small Town’ which sparked outrage as many claimed that it glorified lynching. CMT’s move came after the song’s lyrics started an online debate as it talked about a Tennessee courthouse where a Black teen named Henry Choate was lynched in 1927.

Is Jason Aldean not tipping story true?

After the recent tweet about Aldean and the burrito order went viral, Snopes, the fact-checking website decided to properly look into the tweet. This story was first reported in 2017. According to Snopes, some facts appeared to be a little altered in the July 2023 tweet.

The incident was originally reported on September 13, 2017, by TMZ. The publication said that the controversy began with a food order at Black Sheep Burritos and Brews in West Virginia. Aldean rep confirmed that the order for a number of burritos had been placed by the country singer. It did not mention a specific location where the order was placed, except that it was in West Virginia and “not far from where the singer was performing.”

Presently, the restaurants has branches in Charleston and Huntington. On September 7, 2017, Aldean had performed in Charleston. Charleston had a population of around 48,000 residents in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Small towns were once defined as incorporated areas with 5,000 residents, according to the Census Bureau. This alone negates the definition of Charleston being a “small town.”

Coming to the order itself, there are contradicting reports. While the tweet says 65 burritos, a past Facebook comment said the order was for 70 burritos. Then there was the report of “60 burritos and a quesadilla” mentioned by TMZ. The order reportedly totaled around $500.

Snopes found no evidence that the order was actually placed, whether it was placed for a takeout, picked up by one of Aldean’s crew members or the entire crew went to the restaurant and had a meal together.

Finally, the claim that Aldean “didn’t tip anyone” also has been countered by his own rep who told TMZ back in 2017 that an “appropriate tip” had been left for the order. “Jason had absolutely no contact with the restaurant or any of its employees,” the rep added.

Also, the rumor that multiple employees were let go as a result of the incident is also questionable. TMZ had reported at the time that one worker at the restaurant at been sacked because they tweeted about Aldean’s order, which was a violation of their company policy.