In August 2026, Walmart banned influencer and comedian Damon Darling from its stores for buying other people’s groceries.
Walmart did ban Darling from its stores, as confirmed by a company spokesperson.
Darling was not banned for buying other people’s groceries, according to the company — he recorded pranks and stunts in Walmart stores, which the company deemed disruptive enough for a ban. Furthermore, a video uploaded to Darling’s YouTube page in April 2025 suggests he was banned from Walmart more than a year before this claim spread.
On Aug. 11, 2026, the social media influencer and comedian Damon Darling posted a video (archived) showing an interaction with a police officer telling him he had been issued a lifetime ban from entering Walmart stores. Darling has filmed many of his videos on Walmart premises, including a series in which he pays for other shoppers’ groceries or gives out money.
As the video spread on social media, other users suggested that Darling had been banned specifically because he was attempting to pay for other customers.
Snopes readers contacted us asking for more information.
We found that the claim was a mixture of true and false information. Walmart confirmed it had banned Darling from its stores. However, according to the company’s statement, he was not banned for his charitable actions.
We contacted Walmart and Darling’s team for this story. We spoke briefly with a Walmart spokesperson via phone and received a statement via email, but had not heard back from Darling. We will update this story if we do.
Walmart’s emailed statement to Snopes read:
Helping people is part of who we are, and we are always looking at ways we can partner with others to better our communities. Over the last two years, Mr. Darling repeatedly engaged in ways that created safety concerns and customer disruptions. We have a responsibility to create a safe and respectful place to shop and work, and will continue to do so.
Snopes found that while Darling’s recent content may be more wholesome in nature, some of his older videos involved pranks and skits inside Walmart stores that shoppers may have complained about. Those older videos are not available on Instagram and other short-form video platforms but are still accessible on YouTube.
For example, in a video uploaded in February 2025 titled “Walmart Shoppers Do Anything For Money,” Darling asks a woman to clip one of his toenails for $100. (Interestingly, Darling is never at a Walmart during that video — he’s at a Kroger.)
Reviewing Darling’s YouTube page also revealed that his ban may not have been as recent as people presumed. In a very brief clip at the end of a video uploaded on April 11, 2025, titled “Walmart BANNED me for life,” Darling is approached by two police officers at a Walmart in Xenia, Ohio, who inform him that he has a trespass order for “all Walmarts.”
While Darling and his team did not reply to Snopes’ request for comment, the content creator did discuss the ban in an Aug. 11, 2026, interview with TMZ.
“I respect their wishes. I’m at a point where I’m just going to do what they ask me and not come back and not film at their business,” he said. “I don’t want any problems, I don’t want anyone boycotting Walmart.”
