Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson Says He Is Sending Out His Own ‘Stimulus Checks’ Since Trump Is ‘Playing Games’
Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson is offering to send out his own “stimulus checks” via the Cash App on July 1. The outspoken former wide receiver — Johnson played 11 seasons in the NFL, suiting up for the Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, and Miami Dolphins — tweeted his offer Tuesday afternoon, complete with a screenshot showing a $245,000 balance.
“I’m giving out stimulus checks July 1st if you have cash app since Trump want to keep playing games.”
Users retweeted Johnson’s message more than 14,000 times since it initially went out; it also garnered greater than 50,000 likes. The replies Johnson received were many and varied.
Some users responded with what seemed to be genuine needs. One woman implored Johnson to help out with providing snacks for her day care facility. Multiple educators responded that they were out of work without pay. One user asked Johnson to help out Piece of US, a fund designed to help feed children from low-income families in New York City who rely on school meals during the summer.
Some users responded in jest, with one mentioning a need to fund his OnlyFans subscriptions. More than one user responded by telling Johnson it was his or her birthday. The light hearted responses were chock full of memes and GIFs.
Others Twitter users simply responded with their Cash App IDs, ostensibly in the hopes that Johnson would send them money without any demonstrated need.
And some had their doubts.
“Is this legit? Or just a fake screenshot for likes?” one user tweeted.
One of Johnson’s followers assured the skeptic that he “never [does] anything for clout.”
After his initial offer, Johnson followed up with another tweet, once again referencing the stimulus checks sent out earlier this year by the United States Treasury Department under the CARES Act.
“How the f*ck are people supposed to stretch $1200 for 3 months?” he asked, perhaps rhetorically.
????? pic.twitter.com/u1quNwI6Cf
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) June 23, 2020
This is not the first time in 2020 that Johnson has opened his virtual wallet to help others in need. He sent a struggling fan $1,000 in April after the man reached out to him about his negative balance and desire to eat some McDonald’s. In February, Johnson paid an Ohio woman’s rent.
“She mentioned seeing Johnson give financial aid to fans in the past and told him that she had not paid this month’s rent. To make matters worse she claimed the rental office was threatening to evict her if she did not come up with the money.”
