--- title: Teen Breaks Ellen DeGeneres Twitter, Gets Nuggets for Year description: Carter Wilkerson passed Ellen DeGeneres for the most retweeted tweet, earning him a year's worth of free chicken nuggets from Wendy's. canonical: https://time.com/4772186/carter-wilkerson-most-retweeted-tweet-free-chicken-nuggets/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-09T15:04:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:43:28.293Z og:title: Teen Beats Ellen DeGeneres For Most Retweeted Tweet Ever og:description: He got a year's worth of free chicken nuggets for it og:url: https://time.com/4772186/carter-wilkerson-most-retweeted-tweet-free-chicken-nuggets/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt473366f884b56bfd/6988cc852dce01a0ed9ed661/wendys-most-retweeted-tweet-chicken-nuggets.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: A Wendy's Restaurant As Gains Tops Estimated Forecast og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Teen Beats Ellen DeGeneres For Most Retweeted Tweet Ever twitter:description: He got a year's worth of free chicken nuggets for it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt473366f884b56bfd/6988cc852dce01a0ed9ed661/wendys-most-retweeted-tweet-chicken-nuggets.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Teen Just Broke Ellen DeGeneres's Record for Most Retweeted Tweet of All Time. He's Getting a Lot of Chicken Nuggets > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang May 9, 2017 3:04 PM UTC  Wendy's Co. signage is displayed outside of a restaurant in Torrance, California, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014\. Wendys saw a 5.7% pre-market gain topping the company's 2014 estimated forecast Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Wendy's Co. signage is displayed outside of a restaurant in Torrance, California, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014\. Wendys saw a 5.7% pre-market gain topping the company's 2014 estimated forecast Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang May 9, 2017 3:04 PM UTC A tweet from [cool teen Carter Wilkerson](http://fortune.com/2017/04/07/wendys-free-chicken-18-million-retweets/) passed [Ellen DeGeneres’ infamously star-studded, Bradley Cooper-lensed Oscars selfie](http://100photos.time.com/photos/bradley-cooper-oscars-selfie) this week as the most retweeted tweet of all time, clocking in at more than 3.43 million retweets. It all began when Wilkerson, a 16-year-old student at Manogue High School in Reno, Nevada according to the [_Reno Gazette-Journal_](http://www.rgj.com/story/life/2017/04/07/reno-teen-needs-18-m-retweets-chicken-nuggets/304822001/), tweeted at the fast food chain asking how many retweets he would need in order to receive a year’s supply of free chicken nuggets. Wendy’s, [known for its robust social media presence](http://www.boredpanda.com/funny-wendy-jokes/), tweeted back to the teen that “18 million” could get him his free nuggets. Wilkerson’s casual response? “Consider it done.” His most retweeted tweet showed a screenshot of this interaction, along with a caps-locked caption that read, “HELP ME PLEASE. A MAN NEEDS HIS NUGGS.” > [](https://twitter.com/carterjwm/status/849813577770778624) In the month since Wilkerson wrote his tweet, celebrities have helped him reach his goal, including stars like Aaron Paul, Kathy Griffin, and Martha Hunt, as well as businesses like Amazon and Microsoft. The hashtag #NuggsForCarter started to trend and even the governor of Nevada got in on the fun. > [](https://twitter.com/aaronpaul%5F8/status/850560916156370944) > [](https://twitter.com/kathygriffin/status/850584818635202560) > [](https://twitter.com/MarthaHunt/status/850896308122644480) > [](https://twitter.com/Microsoft/status/850454620136546304) > [](https://twitter.com/amazon/status/850576798882480128) > [](https://twitter.com/GovSandoval/status/850781637109469184) While Wilkerson didn’t quite hit the 18 million retweets Wendy’s originally proposed, he can now claim the most retweeted tweet of all time and more than 100,000 followers, as well as being officially verified on the platform. According to [Twitter’s blog](https://blog.twitter.com/2017/nuggsforcarter-is-now-the-most-retweeted-tweet-of-all-time), Wilkerson has received a gift card for a year’s worth of free nuggets from Wendy’s; the fast food giant will also make a $100,000 donation in Wilkerson’s name to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which finds loving homes for children in foster care. > [](https://twitter.com/Wendys/status/861938018806095872) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4772186/carter-wilkerson-most-retweeted-tweet-free-chicken-nuggets/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4772186/carter-wilkerson-most-retweeted-tweet-free-chicken-nuggets/"},"headline":"This Teen Just Broke Ellen DeGeneres's Record for Most Retweeted Tweet of All Time. 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