Ludacris Is Out There In The World, Buying Groceries For Cash-Strapped Strangers
It sounds ludicrous, but that's just Ludacris.
For the most part, the internet is a cesspool for trolls and neo-Nazis, but occasionally, an uplifting Facebook post or singing Jiggypuff cuts through the algorithm to spread hope in humanity. Last week’s harbinger of light was a post about a handsome stranger buying a penny-stretched US woman her groceries. That stranger? Rapper, Justin Bieber affiliate and Fast & The Furious star Ludacris.
And if you think that sounds a little …ludicrous, you’re not alone. The The New York Times has attempted to fact-check the claim — and it actually looks like Ludacris is just a really rich, nice person.
In the original post, a woman named Therra Gwyn Jaramillo described how, deep in the throes of financial desperation, a friend gave her a $250 Whole Foods gift card. Given she had to restock on staples, it wasn’t enough money.
A man, only introducing himself as Chris, offered to pay the full $375 — Jaramillo sobbed in gratitude on his shoulder before he disappeared. Once he was gone, the cashier let her know it was Ludacris.
Which we desperately want to believe. But, as the Times notes, there’s one moment that sticks out as fishy. Jaramillo says she “launched into the worst possible white-woman rendition of his hit ‘Rollout (My Business)'” after learning who Ludacris was — how does one know the words to a 2001 bop (far from his most famous) yet not recognise the star?
After social media sleuthing, the Times discovered more than 100 social media posts where fans describe bumping into Ludacris at Whole Foods and other grocery chains across the US. One Tweeter even said the rapper bought their cousin’s groceries in Atlanta, back in May.
Ludacris just bought my cousins groceries in a Whole Foods in ATL and let’s just add that to the list of reasons to live there
— K CHAMP (@kir001952) May 22, 2018
Which isn’t proof by itself, of course. An Atlanta TV station had an interview with Jaramillo, which gives it a bit more credibility.
Down on her luck, Therra Jaramillo got a big surprise Monday when she was in line at the @WholeFoods in DeKalb Co. She didn’t have enough for groceries so @Ludacris, who was ahead her, stepped in to pay @JonShirek has the story at 5pm. #11Alive pic.twitter.com/ToaIE5dQxI
— Nick Sturdivant (@N_SturdivantTV) August 2, 2018
Of course, the Times really needed to reach out to Ludacris. But, if he wanted people to know he was a good person, wouldn’t he publicise these acts of charity? Perhaps by releasing a music video where he hands out wads of cash? But that’s not Luda’s style.
Thankfully, that’s what his longtime manager Chaka Zulu is for, who confirmed the story.
“Funny thing,” Zulu wrote to the Times. “Luda does these things all the time. But he doesn’t want to do interviews to highlight it. It’s just his heart.”
Brighten your day by reading the Times’ story here.