Exploring the Long John Silvers Theory
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The Long John Silver’s Conspiracy Theory suggests that the seafood fast-food chain Long John Silver’s operates as a large-scale marijuana money-laundering scheme orchestrated by the U.S. government. Although interest in this theory can be traced back to 2009, a comprehensive outline didn’t emerge until mid-2019 on Reddit. The theory is largely supported by the idea that very few people actually dine at Long John Silver’s.
Origin
On April 16, 2019, a Reddit user named Thawsan posted on /r/conspiracy, proposing that there was a “Large-Scale Marijuana money laundering Operation” involving Long John Silver’s restaurants. They began by noting the lack of customers at these locations and discussed the establishment’s history, mentioning its founder, Jim Patterson, who launched the chain in 1969 in Lexington, Kentucky.
Thawsan further referenced the “Cornbread Mafia,” a notorious group of moonshiners from the American South led by John “Johnny” Robert Boone. In the late 1960s, Boone moved into the marijuana industry, generating significant profits that required laundering.
The connection between Boone and Patterson was highlighted, given their proximity in Kentucky. Thawsan presented this alongside the observation that, despite the chain’s expansion, Long John Silver’s consistently had few patrons.
Over three years, the Reddit post garnered over 960 upvotes.
Spread
In the comments, users reacted to the theory, offering their own insights. For example, Redditor Tminus321boom, from Lexington, expressed agreement with Thawsan, stating that the theory made sense based on local knowledge of the Cornbread Mafia—a comment that received over 110 upvotes.
Conversely, Redditor jimmyjoejohnston expressed skepticism, citing evidence of Yum! Brands’ acquisition of Long John Silver’s in the late 90s. While this did not completely disprove Thawsan’s argument, it challenged the notion that the restaurant continued to serve as a money-laundering front for the Cornbread Mafia in 2019.
On April 20, 2019, a YouTube video by PKA Highlights discussed the conspiracy theory, attracting around 69,100 views over three years. Prior to that, on April 13, Mashable released a video titled “The Real Reason Long John Silver’s Is Struggling To Stay Open,” which explored various factors behind the company’s decline and earned approximately 246,600 views.
In mid-2021, the theory gained traction on TikTok. On May 19, TikToker qunchyy uploaded a video about the conspiracy, garnering about 9,500 views and 1,500 likes within 11 months. On January 22, 2022, TikToker mattronan2 shared a video featuring him and friends visiting a Long John Silver’s to investigate the truth of the conspiracy, which achieved around 11.4 million views and 768,300 likes in just three months.
