Lana Del Rey has discussed her experience of unexpectedly going viral after being spotted working as a waitress at a Waffle House in Alabama. The 38-year-old singer shared details of her brief stint at the restaurant in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, which was published on September 20. This conversation came two months after images and videos surfaced of her behind the counter at the Waffle House, wearing the establishment’s signature uniform – a blue button-up shirt, black shorts, and a name tag.
In her interview with THR, Del Rey recounted that she had visited the Waffle House with her brother and sister after a trip to Florence, Alabama. Initially, she hadn’t planned on taking on a job at the restaurant.
“We were on our third hour, and the servers asked: ‘Do you guys want shirts?’” she explained. “Hell yeah! We were thrilled.”
In July, the restaurant’s manager posted a video of Del Rey working behind the counter on Facebook, and it quickly gained viral attention. Alongside pictures of her pouring coffee, an Instagram fan account also shared images of Del Rey interacting with customers and posing with fans.
Del Rey shared how fans were puzzled by her sudden waitressing job, and she explained that Waffle House employees encouraged her to serve customers for fun.
“This guy, a regular, comes in every day and orders two things, so they were like: ‘Just go get it for him!’ I brought him a Coke. No ice. And an empty cup,” she explained, noting that the customer spat his chewing tobacco into the cup.
However, Del Rey wasn’t aware that her interactions at the Waffle House were being recorded. She said, “I didn’t see anyone take a video of me.”
During the interview, Del Rey humorously expressed her desire for her albums to go as viral as her Waffle House gig did. She remarked, “I wish my album had gone as viral. I woke up to, like, 10,000 texts the next morning – some from folks I had not heard from for 10 years: ‘Saw your picture at the Waffle House!’ I was like: ‘Did you hear the new album?’” referring to her album, “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd,” released in March.
Back in July, many fans shared their encounters with Del Rey at the Alabama-based restaurant. One resident named Karina Cisneros Juarez even shared her excitement about the experience on Facebook and posted a selfie with the celebrity.
“To say I am ecstatic is an understatement!!!” Juarez posted on her Facebook profile. “I have been a huge fan of Lana Del Rey for over a decade, so meeting her today was truly insane.”
Speaking to AL.com, Juarez shared more about her interaction with the “Video Games” singer. “It was a bit surreal. I just told her how much I loved her music and her work in general,” the fan said. “She was super lovely and incredibly nice.”
