Perths Compton Burgers cops trolls James Webb TikTok rant

It seems hell hath no fury like an influencer scorned.

A massively popular Perth burger joint that has flipped patties for the likes of rapper Jack Harlow, Coolio and UB40, is batting off an army of trolls after being publicly chastised by Australia’s number-one competitive eater.

James Webb, who travels the world documenting food challenges on his social media channels, unloaded on Perth’s Compton Burgers in a four-and-a-half-minute rant on Wednesday.

Webb set the scene by claiming Compton Burgers was keen to work with him while he was in Perth for a doughnut eating challenge, though he declined as his trip to WA was “booked out”.

By chance, Webb stumbled across the burger joint while looking for a morning pick-me-up large almond latte before heading to his doughnut challenge.

“This guy obviously recognised me and proceeded to tell me, ‘you missed out, it’s your loss, we would have made you viral, we would have got you famous, we have got the best food in the country,” Webb told his millions of followers as he detailed the interaction that soon turned into a screaming match.

The 34-year-old from Baulkham Hills in Sydney’s west is ranked 5th on the Major League Eating rankings, which ranks the top 50 eaters on the professional eating circuit.

Between competing, he runs a hugely popular social media account, ‘J Webby Can Eat’.

The at times sickening channel sees the champion eater tackle challenges, like demolishing a ten-stack of waffles or 10 pounds of poutine in under ten minutes, almost daily.

According to Webb, when he got his coffee from Compton Burgers, the lid had not been put on correctly, and after a sip, he wore it.

After sipping what was left, Webb claimed the coffee was a full-cream milk cappuccino, so he returned it and prepared to go.

It was then - he claimed - that the interaction took a turn for the worse.

Footage captured the moment Webb became locked in a war of words with shop owner Michael Theo.

Michael’s dad John, a hospitality industry veteran, is shown trying to calm his son and Webb down.

“You’re not being abused … Bullcrap,” Michael said.

The pair continue to yell over the top of each other.

From inside the burger joint, Michael sporadically yells, “tough guy”, “Why are you like that?” and “I’m sick of these people”.

Webb ended his video, saying, “I don’t know what your damage is, but come on man, that’s not cool.”

In a write-up about the incident, Webb added: “As I said I’m fortunate to have a platform where I get to showcase awesome businesses and great food.”

“Occasionally though, I will use my platform to give recommendations on venues NOT to visit,” he continued.

John and Michael told news.com.au the video posted by Mr Webb was extremely distressing and misrepresented what happened.

The pair both said Webb entered the store rude, aggressive and looking to “prove a point”.

“Yeah, I lost it mate, he was so rude. I was nice to the man, just trying to have a friendly conversation,” Michael said.

The interaction has stumped John, who is approaching 70, and served as a harsh introduction to the world of social media.

“I’m an old fellow, and what I saw wasn’t right. I’ve been in the (hospitality) business all my life, and I could see he came with bad intentions – he came in with a video in his hand,” he told news.com.au.

“What is the world coming to?”

Compton Burgers has happily relished in cult status in Perth for years, with its shopfront a staple inclusion in must-visit burger lists for the WA capital.

Its American-inspired smashed patties, oozing cheese, and crispy fried chicken burgers were reportedly a favourite of late US rapper Coolio, who seemingly passed the word on in celebrity circles.

Rap superstar Jack Harlow, hardcore US hip hop group Onyx, and UB40’s Tony Mullings have visited the store since.

Bad intentions or not, it’s evident that the burger joint’s social media feeds have been bombarded with trolls and abusive comments.

Poor reviews, many believed to be posted by people who have not dined there, have flooded Compton Burgers’ feeds in the last 24 hours.

One such Google review read: “Haven’t eaten here, but guys, you’re in trouble, there are heaps of people subscribed to Jwebby (James Webb), and you need to make up for your mistakes, or your business will suffer.”

“Cancel culture will shut you down, there will be no argument, your customer base all look at Google reviews, so get on top of this before it becomes a real problem,” it continued.

Other’s looked to counter the trolls with five-star reviews, with one reading: “A shame to see the reviews being brigaded because of an influencer – I’ve been here before, and the food is fantastic, and the staff are awesome.”

Michael said some of the reviews and comments had been hurtful and damaging.

“They’re calling me racist, I’m a racist? Come off it mate – that’s the last thing I am,” he said.

“How far does this go? We were a 4.9 star rating (on Google), and now they’re slamming us with bad reviews.”

In July, speaking generally about the legality of reviews and business social media content production, renowned Queensland-based lawyer Ben Twomey told news.com.au he was seeing more work emerging from businesses disputing online reviews, including “super damaging” content posted by social media influencers.

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Mr Twomey said increasingly, legal action is being taken against influencers on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok on behalf of businesses.

He said influencers looking for likes and followers tend to do so with “outlandish or sensationalised” content.

“In a world where that’s a popular way to build their personal brand or image, everyone’s always looking for content,” he said.

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