Pizza nights are supposed to be fun and provide an easy, on-the-go meal that is not only delicious but also fits into our busy lifestyle. For one Tennessee man, though, that simple plan spiraled into a full-blown viral meltdown after he discovered that the pizza he bought from Walmart wasn’t really a pizza at all, at least not in the traditional, bread-included sense.
The now-infamous incident unfolded when TikTok user @drewtastic658, based in Tennessee, picked up a couple of California Pizza Kitchen Crispy Thin Crust BBQ Chicken pizzas from Walmart. On paper, everything sounded fine. Thin crust? Great. Crispy? Even better. What he didn’t expect was that “thin crust” apparently meant no crust whatsoever.
When he opened the first box, the shock was immediate. Instead of dough, the sauce, cheese, and toppings were sitting directly on a circular piece of cardboard. Not baked dough. Not flatbread. Cardboard. As he peeled at it to confirm what he was seeing, his disbelief turned into pure outrage.
Tennessee Man Shares Cardboard Pizza Mishap
“They forgot the crust! They put the sauce…this is cardboard! This is what I paid $7 for?! Cardboard?! Are we out of our minds?!” he ranted in the video.
To his credit, he checked the second pizza he bought, and thankfully, that one was an actual pizza with a real crust. Still, the damage was done. One successful pie couldn’t undo the emotional trauma of opening a box and realizing your dinner was basically office supplies topped with cheese.
The Tennessee man didn’t hold back when calling out who he felt was responsible. “Walmart and California Pizza Kitchen, I want my money back. Now!” he added, making it clear this wasn’t just a bad dinner it was a personal offense.
So far, only California Pizza Kitchen has responded publicly to the situation. The brand commented, “That’s definitely not the pizza experience we promised! Send us a DM and we’ll make it up to you.” While that response was polite and on-brand, it opened the floodgates. Other customers quickly chimed in with their own pizza grievances, suggesting this might not be an isolated incident.
The Internet Is Blaming MAGA and Donald Trump
As internet stories tend to do, the comment section took a wild turn. Somehow, a cardboard pizza sparked political jokes, with some users sarcastically blaming the current state of things on shrinkflation.
“Trump got people eating horse candy, dumpster pickles, and cardboard pizzas,” one person commented. “Thank Trump for that,” another person chimed in. “This is MAGA pizza,” a third person agreed. “FDA regulations are a good thing,” a fourth snarky comment read.
At the end of the day, this whole ordeal serves as a reminder to always check your food before committing emotionally. For this Tennessee man, what should have been a cozy pizza night turned into a viral cautionary tale one cardboard circle at a time.
Kendra Quinn 
Sabrina Russell 
