Walter “Unc” Johnson, the man who went viral in 2025 all in the name of “tenderism,” is going solo.
Despite the viral success and business he brought to Destination Smokehouse, he was let go for reasons he did not disclose in a recent Instagram video. His fabled term, “tenderism,” is at the center of a trademark dispute between his former employer and an attorney, Kenneth Harris, who filed separate trademarks for “tendersim” in 2025, weeks before Destination Smokehouse did the same.
“No, I’m not,” Johnson said about whether he was still employed by Destination Smokehouse. “I’m with Tenderism now. I had to go on my own so that way I can do what I have to do. It is what it is. When things happen, you don’t get mad. You just take another step, get glad and praise the Lord ya still living. I’m finna tenderize the world, now. They should have never.”
He thanked supporters and said he wouldn’t let them down. Hours later, he was spotted as a private chef for the Isley Brothers, delivering his famous charm and succulent barbecue.
Johnson, who shared videos of his pitmaster skills in which every meal he brought out was so tender it always fell off the bone, quickly went viral, leading to collaborations with Jordan The Stallion and Keith Lee. Lee visited the California restaurant where Johnson worked, looking to gift him a $4,000 tip for his skills, but was turned away by venue security.
“We could not get to Unc,” Lee said in a clip posted to TikTok. “Security said he was done for the day; he was filming something. I believe he was filming a podcast. We had $4,000 in cash they didn’t take.”
Destination Smokehouse in Murietta, California, quickly had customers lined up out the door wanting to experience what Unc was putting down with his tenderism, with even some fans thinking he actually owned his own restaurant. Now that he’s no longer there, he’s free to roam across the country serving his patented barbecue as he did recently for the Isley Brothers.
In February, Johnson asked his more than 180,000 Instagram followers which city had the best BBQ. It won’t be long before fans start seeing him in their cities, living up to his mantra of “tenderizing” the world.
