‘Sweetly Seasoned’ food truck sparks backlash over massive $4,000 donation from Keith Lee

The internet is outraged after the owner of a food truck failed to split a $4,000 tip given by TikTok star Keith Lee when he specifically asked her to share it with two other people.

Keith Lee has risen to fame as TikTok’s resident celebrity food reviewer. The mixed martial artist turned internet icon is known for his reviews of small-time restaurants around the United States, often giving them a much-needed boost in foot traffic.

However, some of Lee’s culinary endeavors have resulted in major drama, such as his infamous visit to Atlanta, Georgia, which saw the internet explode with debates around the city’s restaurants that are often rife with over-the-top rules and difficult service.

Now, another Keith Lee restaurant review has sparked a public outcry after giving out a hefty tip that wasn’t shared in the way he intended.

Instagram: Keith_Lee125

Food truck owner sparks outrage after viral Keith Lee review

On January 31, Lee visited the ‘Sweetly Seasoned’ food truck in North Dallas, Texas at the request of the owner’s son. While Lee generally seemed to like the food, he also had feedback for the business: namely, that they ramp up their marketing and get more hands in the kitchen.

At the end of his video, Lee prayed with the truck’s owner, Kim Viverette, and told her to charge his card for $4,000 with some specific instructions: Give $1K to a barber doing hair outside the food truck and another $1K to a woman doing braids, while $2,000 were to go to Viverette, herself.

That’s not all; Lee even paid for $300 worth of orders behind him. However, it doesn’t appear as though Viverette honored Lee’s request, nor gave out $300 worth of free plates.

Comments are currently flooding Lee’s ‘Sweetly Seasoned’ review video claiming that Viverette kept all the cash for herself… but the owner’s son, Trey, had a different story to tell.

In a video of his own, Trey argued that the barber couldn’t show up to give haircuts for free, but still wanted the $1K Lee offered. Trey pointed out that Lee had offered the cash to allow him to “cut everybody’s hair for free,” and instead wanted to give another barber that money who could be there to provide his services.

Trey also claimed that the woman doing braids, who is apparently the barber’s sister, didn’t want her $1K, knowing the “situation” Trey’s mother was in with the food truck – but later demanded her brother get paid the $1K he was promised.

Kim Viverette then posted a video discussing the situation, wherein she claimed that she did not know the braider or the barber whatsoever, reiterating that they were not part of her business.

On top of that, Kim claimed that the braider already had an appointment scheduled. According to Kim, the braider asked her client to come to the food truck because Keith Lee would be there — so the situation appeared different from how it really was.

“I built this business from the ground up. Me and my son. And for her to even think, because she called somebody out there just to braid her hair, that she deserves a thousand dollars?” Kim said. “…Now, I would love to do the right thing, and I feel like I did do the right thing.”

Both Kim and her son’s videos have been met with ample backlash over the situation, with commenters demanding that they pay up — but Kim says that the only person getting paid is her son, saying “what he has going on with his friends has nothing to do with me or my business.”

Instagram: sweetlyseasonedllc

Keith Lee weighs in on the Sweetly Seasoned fiasco & the food truck changed their minds

Keith wasted no time addressing the controversy, stating that he believed that Kim was “100% wrong” in her decision to keep all of the money.

Eventually, the food truck released a statement reassuring the public that the funds had now been distributed to the other employees, as Keith Lee intended his donation to be used.