Chuck E Cheese pizza: Conspiracy theory explained
CONSPIRACY theorists claim the well-known kids' pizza place Chuck E Cheese recycles leftover pizza.
The pizza chain has denied the accusations, which started over a decade ago but gained momentum in 2019.
What is the Chuck E Cheese conspiracy theory?
Conspiracies surrounding Chuck E Cheese's pizza started circulating over a decade ago but gained momentum in 2019.
People posted photos of Chuck E Cheese recycling their pizza on social media.
The photos show what appears to be a pizza with one inconsistency - the toppings and slices don't align.
YouTuber Shane Dawson told that he started noticing the pieces of pizza didn't match when he was eight.
"So I noticed this when I was eight years old or something," in a video that's received 47million views since it was posted in 2019.
He continued: "I was like, wait a minute, how come all the pieces are different?"
Dawson of a pizza that showed some pieces had more extensive crusts than others while some slices were smaller than others.
Because of this, Dawson speculated that employees were reheating old pieces of pizza and putting them together to form new pizzas.
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Dawson tried to prove his theory by visiting a Chuck E Cheese and ordering two pies which he posted a photo of on social media.
Although his video doesn't show him attempting to speak with employees or sneak a peak into the kitchen, Dawson comments on the unevenly matched pies: "I mean, that's undeniable, that's crazy."
The conspiracy theory that Chuck E Cheese is using leftover pizza to create new pies has been speculated over the last decade but has never been proven.
What have ex-employees said about the conspiracy theory?
After Dawson posted photos and the video claims Chuck E Cheese was reheating old pizza slices, nearly 311k of his followers commented, with some saying they would never return to the pizza chain.
"I'm so lucky I've never been to a Chuck E. Cheese in my life," one person commented, while another wrote: "Shane is the only one who can make talking about Chuck E Cheese scary."
Over three years since Dawson posted the video, it still receives comments from individuals who say they used to work at Chuck E Cheese and are attempting to debunk the conspiracy theory.
"I used to work at Chuck E. Cheese right after high school in [2001]. We threw away the pizzas. No fixing pizzas with every little leftovers."
In a video titled Ex-Chuck E. Cheese Employee Responds To Shane Dawson's Conspiracy, YouTuber Payden clarified what happened in the kitchen.
He said Chuck E Cheese requires each pizza to be consistent and have 12 slices but sometimes rushed kitchen workers, like himself, will cut ten pieces instead of the required amount.
"You'll just find a really big piece of pizza, and you'll only cut that one in half," he said. "Because of that, it'll start to make a line that doesn't end up anywhere and stuff like that. It'll make all of these lines look all funky."
He added: "It's people in the kitchen just not giving a crap."
Did Chuck E Cheese comment on the conspiracy theory?
In the decade since the conspiracy theory surfaced, Chuck E Cheese did not comment until Dawson's video was posted on YouTube.
The video gave a platform for the theory, and his followers began to speculate if it was true.
Former Chuck E Cheese employee, Samantha, worked at the company in 2010 and 2011 and told she had never witnessed pizza slices being recycled.
"I've never seen anyone do that," Samantha said. "It gets so cold and gross so fast that I feel like people would notice if they were recycled."
In a statement to , a Chuck E Cheese spokesperson said: "The claims made in this video about Chuck E. Cheese's and our pizza are unequivocally false.
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"No conspiracies here — our pizzas are made to order, and we prepare our dough fresh in the restaurant.
"Which means that they're not always perfectly uniform in shape, but always delicious."