Sometimes, the good guys do prevail

It seems like every time you turn around, there’s a video that gets posted on social media, whether it’s on TikTok, Instagram or X, where an influencer says or does something stupid — oftentimes intentionally — and the video goes viral as a result.

Sometimes there is a target in the video, someone who is filmed from a safe distance who never knows they’re about to get 15 minutes of fame simply because an influencer needed content for their channel or page in hopes of getting a lot of clicks, which can translate into clout and/or revenue.

But in other instances, the influencers don’t put any distance at all between themselves and their unwitting subject(s), where the person behind the camera is trying to jolt, scare, confuse or make the other person look like a fool, all for purposes of online “engagement” and monetary gain.

Occasionally, though, the tables get turned on these attention-seeking content creators, something we saw very recently courtesy of a video shared to Instagram by two influencers who thought it would be a cute idea to harass a Red Baron pizza stocker who was restocking the freezers at a local grocery store.

The man, known only as Walt Z., who we soon learned was a father of four, was going about his business and doing his job when one of the pranksters walked up to him and asked him what time it was. Moments later, the prankster faked stealing $10 from Walt’s phone, using their own to play a phony Apple Pay sound notification.

Naturally, Walt wasn’t amused and blasted the two Bill and Ted-sounding wannabes who had interrupted his busy workday in order to have a laugh and make a buck at his expense.

“My life is hard enough as it is, OK?” he told them as he followed them to the front of the store, confronting them when they tried to leave. “I got kids at home that went to bed without me right now! I was supposed to be off an hour ago! I gotta wake up at 5 in the morning and do 10 more stores!” he added.

Walt really got upset when one of the pranksters tried to downplay what had just happened as “just a joke” and said he was “sorry.”

But Walt knew the punk wasn’t sorry. “No, you don’t! You’re probably making money off of this! I can’t even pay my g—amn mortgage! And I got four kids at home! So not funny!”

The video went viral, not because people appreciated the “joke” but because their hearts went out to Walt Z. Eventually, the content creators deleted the video and their Instagram account, and Walt is now some $800,000 richer (and counting) due to a GoFundMe campaign set up on his behalf.

Walt has told the creator of the GoFundMe that he and his family are overwhelmed and appreciative, and that news outlets have requested interviews. While he’s considering which ones he might want to do, Walt has stressed that being a husband and father is his top priority, and he wants to respect his family’s privacy.

It’s unclear whether Walt will want to keep his job after this, but his employer, Red Baron, has been nothing but supportive since the August incident, saying in a statement, “We are pleased to share that he is doing well and remains a valued member of our team.”

The Red Baron X account last Thursday posted, “He’s still here. He’s got a fan club. Including us,” while adding, “Employee of the month nominations are closed. You know why.” As of this writing, it has more than 29,000 retweets.

It sure is nice when the good guys prevail.

North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.