An employee working for Whataburger established himself on social media by doing food reviews, sharing his faith by praying over meals, and spreading God’s Word in his videos. Not long after Byron Juniors World, also known as Byron Lutz, went viral, reports emerged that the 17-year-old was fired by his employer, which caused quite an uproar online, with many accusing Whataburger of religious discrimination.
Lutz, whose TikTok and other social media platforms go by the name Byron Juniors World, has amassed over 600,000 followers on his account. 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 only thing that matters in the end is Jesus because he’s the way, the truth, and the life and the only way to heaven and our eternity is the most important thing,” Lutz said. People have been subscribing to his TikTok account in droves because of the way the 17-year-old blends food reviews, prayer, words of encouragement, and spreading the gospel to his viewers.
When speaking on why he started the account, Lutz said it was to inspire others and have a platform for sharing his faith. Byron hails from South Carolina and is a native of the Lexington area. Lutz stated that he’s lived there his whole life and has recently joined a church family that he says feels like home, according to a report from the International Business Times.
Lutz previously worked as a night-shift employee for Whataburger, before a video of him reviewing a Whataburger sandwich went viral, but ultimately led to him being fired from the fast food chain. That video has now pulled in a staggering 11 million views. While Lutz was filming his video a co-worker interrupted him and accused him of “lying” to his viewers.
The same individual then claimed that another employee was going to “beat your a**” for “eating other people’s food,” going on to add that he was “squatted down like some creepy little hobo.” The same co-worker told Lutz to “stop smoking crack.” Byron, who was visibly uncomfortable by the encounter, tried to continue the review, but ended the video before he could finish his meal. He still ended the video with his trademark “Jesus loves you.”
Not long after the video went viral, Lutz made another post explaining that he was fired from the restaurant. Whataburger put out a statement about his firing saying, “Whataburger is built on respect, including respect for the religious liberty and personal freedoms of our more than 51,000 team members. At the same time, all employees must comply with the basic and clearly spelled out company policies that govern our workplace.”
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When the company was asked to provide the specific policy that Lutz violated, there was no follow-up response. In the video following his firing, Byron said that there was a group of four or five co-workers threatening him at the restaurant. “I’m not gonna say their names for legal reasons, but they have been threatening me and threatening to shoot me and threatening to basically assassinate me the same way Charlie Kirk was assassinated. And told me to invest in a coffin,” Byron said in the video.
He then revealed that these same colleagues called human resources on him for “talking about Jesus and spreading the gospel.” He then said, “I probably will not post any more of the Whataburger videos. I will probably. I’m just gonna let it go. After today and just lay it at the foot of the cross and let Jesus handle it, because I know Jesus has a plan.”
Furious online commentators demanded that Whataburger face a boycott campaign over the matter. “Wow Texas I guess we need to boycott @Whataburger they apparently are not supporting Christians any longer,” wrote one. “Whataburger fired Byron for praying on his own time. Now they’re losing customers faster than they can flip patties,” said another.
Thankfully, Byron now has a new job working Highway 55 and Sonic. Local business owner Jay Webb was moved by Lutz’s story and decided to hire him for his restaurant, Highway 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries, saying he was drawn to Lutz’s faith and energy. Byron has also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help him raise money to buy his first car and move into his own place. He has already raised $31,543 towards his $35,000 goal.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video