‘Bleak’ and ‘depressing’: Supposedly feel-good story about 89-year-old pizza delivery man getting $12k tip backfires

A supposedly ‘feel-good’ story about an 89-year-old pizza delivery man receiving a huge tip to help pay his monthly bills backfired, with social media users more angered that the octogenarian had to work into old age to survive.

Derlin Newey from Utah’s Weber County works 30 hours a week delivering pizzas for Papa John’s because he can’t afford his monthly bills on social security alone. The man’s story gained attention after Carlos Valdez, a TikToker who got to know him through his deliveries, raised $12 thousand from his followers, gave the money to Newey as a tip, and filmed the whole thing.

“How do I ever say thank you? I don’t know what to say,” the elderly delivery man said, as he began to cry.

89-year old Derlin Newey is a pizza delivery man who received a surprise delivery of his own today. A couple who got to know him from his pizza deliveries raised $12,000 to help him out. He had no idea. The full story runs tonight on @KSL5TV at 6. #ksltv #goodnews pic.twitter.com/Z83K5LTKPh

— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) September 22, 2020

Local NBC affiliate KSL-TV broadly presented the situation as a heartfelt, uplifting story which showed that “being kind really pays off” – although the news segment did show Valdez commenting that “somebody at that age should not be working that much.”

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Twitter users, while awed by Valdez’s kindness, weren’t as blown away by the tale. Some commented that it was “bleak” and “depressing” that the systems in place allow old people to live so poorly that they resort to delivering pizzas to survive and pay their monthly bills. 

it's good that he got this money but it's still incredibly sad that we allow old people to live in such poverty that they need to start delivering pizzas in order to survive

— Gravel Institute (@GravelInstitute) September 24, 2020

The intent is a feel-good story, but it's actually depressing an 89 year old man needs to deliver pizza

— Steve Beynon (@StevenBeynon) September 24, 2020

this is not a feelgood story and you shouldn't feel good about writing it

— adrian (@Crawf33) September 24, 2020

A beautiful act of kindness. But one that *should* be entirely unnecessary in the richest country in the world. We should be taking care of our elderly who've worked hard their whole lives, not forcing them to deliver pizza at 89 years old to make ends meet. ????????

— Grace Amandes (@GraceAmandes) September 24, 2020

One user sarcastically quipped that if people gave every working 89-year-old such handouts it would shrink the octogenarian labor pool.

But if we gave every 89 year old $12k, it would discourage them from working

— Brohamand (@brohamand) September 24, 2020

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