Chuck E. Cheese’s-the popular kids arcade and play area-is under fire following recent allegations about their “handmade” pizzas. The release of famous YouTuber Shane Dawson’s video titled, “Investigating Conspiracies with Shane Dawson” left fans shocked and some even tried the theory out for themselves. Many have attended Chuck E. Cheese’s to have their pizza, while others are still wondering if anyone who has worked their will reveal more of the truth. This video is a segment of his viral series and consistently attracts a large audience. He looks into popular conspiracies and informs his viewers about the truth by questioning and testing it out in order to come to a final consensus. His last video, released on February 11, 2019, has racked up over 22 million views and has sparked a conservation between his supporters. Some fans were shocked about finding out the truth about a place they have loved since they were kids, while others simply think it’s too crazy to be true. In his latest installment of his conspiracy videos, Shane covered technology being able to manipulate human voices, shared a heart-wrenching potential human trafficking story featuring his long time friend Brittani Louise Taylor, and exposed Chuck E Cheese’s for their recycled pizzas.
Specifically, Shane said that he thinks Chuck E. Cheese’s uses leftover slices of their pizza and serves these slices after collectively gathering pizza and reheating it with additional cheese to blend the edges. To be exact, he explained, “I think it’s crazy…there’s a theory that if somebody doesn’t finish their whole pizza and there’s like a few pieces left, the employee will take that to the back, take those pieces off the tray, and form a new pizza with all the other leftovers, and then reheat it and serve it to a new customer.” He shared pictures of Chuck E. Cheese’s pizza in the video and the edges didn’t match up, proving this theory. Some slices were noticeably smaller, the pepperoni slices didn’t match up correctly, and the bottom of the slices were varying in color, showing how the slices are reheated multiple times. He decided to take it a step further and test the theory for himself. Shane and fellow creator, Ryland Adams attended the arcade arena and purchased a pizza. He admitted that he genuinely didn’t think the theory was true, but was absolutely shocked to see how his pizza looked like. The toppings were different, the bottoms were burnt, and the slices looked misplaced! The slices didn’t match up even when he tried to piece them together manually so he took pictures which were then uploaded to Twitter as evidence.
Fans responded saying that Shane might get sued by the company, while others admit that they shared similar experiences. Fans and other YouTubers such as FaZe Rug and Carly and Erin have made videos testing out the theory and had varying results. FaZe Rug thought that the pizza was going to come out mismatched and composed of recycled pieces, admitting that the place was “sketch”, but later got the pizza and it seemed normal. However, as mentioned in Shane’s video, people have noticed their pizzas come out looking recycled which brought up a good point in Faze Rug’s video. After ordering the pizza, the manager supposedly went up to the chef and said, “Make it good”, while the chef told him, “We’ll make it 10 out of 10.” Brian, also known on YouTube as Faze Rug, stated that YouTubers may be getting better treatment and non-recycled pizzas as the company is aware of them filming with large camera equipment and the creators have large fan bases to potentially expose Chuck E. Cheese’s.
Shane observed the pizza with Ryland and after taking pictures, decided to place their half-eaten pizza onto a different table in order to see if it would get picked up by an employee. To their surprise, an employee bypassed them, looked at the pizza, but didn’t take it to the trash. Shane also mentioned how the play area states, “Fresh Ingredients! Made to order” in multiple areas such as the plates they serve the pizza on, signs, etc. as if the company s trying to cover up the fact that they may be scamming their customers. Not only does this pose major health concerns and violates basic sanitary standards, but long time fans of the company as well as parents have been extremely disappointed and frustrated. Parents and kids alike have been expressing their worries on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams to test out their new conspiracy theory and put the rumors to rest as their pizza came out with different-sized slices and pepperonis not matching up. Photo Credit: Shane Dawson
Fans of Shane and Chuck E. Cheese’s waited in anticipation as Shane and Chuck E. Cheese’s failed to address the controversy on social media (with the exception of the original YouTube video on Shane’s channel). Shane posted a picture on Instagram announcing the release of the video and shared pictures from his Chuck E. Cheese’s visit on Twitter. Chuck E. Cheese’s, as expected, responded to the backlash and shut down this theory. In a public statement, they explained, “Our pizzas look like that because they’re hand cut and no one is perfect at doing them…we cut them as fast as we can because we’re usually busy with 5 more pizzas coming out of the oven.” However, former workers from Chuck E. Cheese’s say that they use specific pizza-cutting tools in which guarantee a precise cut. Additionally, some former employees and “pizza pros” have admitted that, “I can indeed say that we did recycle our pizza and reheat it.” The more and more details that come out revolving this theory, the more twisted it seems to become. Is Chuck E. Cheese’s actually scamming their customers and if so, how did it go under the radar for so long as the company has been open since 1997?
Shane also revealed how Chuck E. Cheese’s games are promoting underage gambling and dead mouses have also been found in the play area. Rumor has it that the company plans to sue Shane for the video and is also requesting for it to be taken down which is all the more reason why fans are defending Shane’s theory. Shane also stated in a video that he will be pushing back the release date of his upcoming video, not because he’s lazy, but rather, he stated it’s for legal reasons and he’s been speaking with his lawyers. Shockingly, some public figures like Perez Hilton have stood by Chuck E. Cheese’s side during this conspiracy theory scandal. Drama channels and entertainment news outlets such as Hollyscoop and What’s Trending have covered the topic as well. In response to this, Chuck E Cheese’s said, “We’re not buying it either! We’re all about that fresh handmade pizza.” If this theory turns out to be true, the company may be gone for good, but if it’s wrong, this may mean bad news for Shane Dawson. What do you think? Is this conspiracy theory true? Is Chuck E. Cheese’s really serving new customers old slices of pizza or has Shane just released a conspiracy theory that has been taken out of context?