Fact Check

This One's on Clooney

Does George Clooney have an open tab at Chipotle that anyone can use to get a free burrito?

Published Jan. 29, 2015

 (Flickr/dabruins07)
Image Via Flickr/dabruins07
Claim:
George Clooney has an open tab at Chipotle that anyone can use to get a free burrito.

On 29 January 2015, the satirical web site Clickhole published an article entitled "7 Hacks to Get The Most Out of Your Chipotle Order."

One of these "Chipotle hacks" claimed that people could invoke the goodwill of actor George Clooney by including the phrase "this one's on Clooney" while placing their order to obtain free burritos:

Say "This One’s On Clooney" After Ordering: Three years ago, George Clooney opened up a tab at Chipotle and forgot to close it out. If you say, "This one's on Clooney," they add it to his tab (now somewhere around $3 million), and you eat free. That's right: FREE.

In this Clickhole scenario, anyone craving a free meal at Chipotle could simply put it on the actor's tab.

While this claim could be debunked by addressing any of the questions which would arise from a serious examination (Chipotle has open tabs? Does this happen at one Chipotle or at all Chipotle locations nationwide? Does George Clooney know about this? Is this goodwill or theft?), it might be easier to just look at some of the other obviously risible "Chipotle Hacks" included in the list:

Burrito Refills: Ordering a burrito? Next time you do, don't eat the tortilla, and take advantage of Chipotle's free refill policy.

Used Burrito Exchange: Bring in any old, used, or dinged-up burrito, and the folks at Chipotle will exchange it for a new one. It's company policy. Awesome, right?

Clickhole, which is an offshoot of the satirical publication The Onion, strives to "make sure that all of our content panders to and misleads our readers just enough to make it go viral."

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.