Keith Lee is the most popular food reviewer on TikTok, building an audience of 16.5 million followers since 2021. The vibe of his videos is very demure. He sits in his car and stares directly at the camera while shoveling delicacies from local shops around the country, rating them with a score between one and 10.
His positive videos have the power to turn a struggling business into a hit overnight. But his negative takes can have the opposite effect, leading to a media-feeding frenzy.
That said, in a video from Tuesday on Lee’s TikTok, he explained why he won’t be posting reviews of all the restaurants he visited during a recent trip to Washington, D.C. Of the 12 restaurants he and his family went to, he said he’d only post “about six or seven videos” because the rest wouldn’t be “constructive.”
According to his TikTok, some restaurants had chicken that smelled like it was cooked in the same oil as seafood (Lee has a shellfish allergy), while others didn’t use gloves or had unappetizing food.
“We went to a lot of places that were recommended, and we were out here for a week,” Lee added in the video.
Keith Lee has already dealt with a media storm for unfavorable takes. In November, he visited Atlanta to check out the local restaurants and share his opinions on the local cuisine. But the service he experienced could have been better: he left multiple restaurants without eating any food and sharing his take with his audience in multiple videos.
Brunch restaurant The Real Milk and Honey claimed they were closed for deep cleaning and couldn’t serve him for takeout, even though the doors were wide open. At the Southern-style eatery Old Lady Gang, a server informed Lee that they didn’t do to-go orders and that a table would take over an hour to be ready until they learned it was for a famous TikToker. Then, a spot magically opened up (Lee doesn’t tolerate any special treatment so he turned them down).
Both restaurant owners responded on social media, with Real Milk and Honey posting a since-deleted dismissal of Lee, before apologizing in a press release. The controversy even hit the mainstream, with rapper Cardi B sharing that even she struggles to get a table at Atlanta hot spots.
The whole snafu permanently soured the image of Atlanta restaurants to millions of viewers, and it seems like Lee has taken that experience to heart. In a subsequent video, Lee said, “If I go to two or three restaurants and don’t have the best experience, then I’m tearing down businesses and being mean, and I need to shut up. ”
Reviewing anything online isn’t easy since each person’s taste is entirely subjective. Reviews should be used as a way to help guide viewers toward a decision. But in Lee’s experience, they’ve become excuses to harass creators with opposite viewpoints.
When IGN gives a score deemed too high by the masses for the latest shooter video game, their comments sections become a bloodbath. When music critic Anthony Fantano shares less-than-favorable opinions on the latest Kanye album, he gets death threats. Simply put, hate gets clicks.
But not every reviewer is in it for the ad sense and Lee has made it clear that he just wants to help small businesses thrive. In his videos, he always makes sure to point out that nobody should be sent hate. But the animosity Lee, and other reviewers, receive, makes saying the worst parts out loud less than appetizing. They have a job to do after all, even if it means putting themselves in some hot water.
