Delatron aka Del Johnson is the mom of Philadelphia Eagles safety CJ Gardner-Johnson and the owner of King’s Grill restaurant who recently faced off against a wave of ‘fake bad reviews’ from Swifties
The incident took place following the Kansas City Chiefs’ recent defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LIX.
Who is Del Johnson, mom of Eagles’ CJ Gardner-Johnson and owner of King’s Grill, Florida restaurant as Taylor Swift fans leave bad reviews for Kayla Nicole comment
🚨🚨🚨WILD🚨🚨🚨#Eagles DB CJ Gardner-Johnson goes after Travis Kelce on his Instagram story this morning.
“Should’ve stayed with that thick sh*t.”
He is talking about Kelce breaking up with Kayla Nicole for Taylor Swift. pic.twitter.com/qSaGEzlDKj
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) February 10, 2025
Awful: #Chiefs fans and Swifties are leaving fake bad reviews to CJ Gardner-Johnson’s mother’s restaurant in Florida.
CJ's mother did NOT do anything, and they are putting her livelihood at risk.
Sports are never this serious. Make sure to show your support to King’s Grill in… pic.twitter.com/VQNpynCxsf
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 11, 2025
CJ Gardner-Johnson is a 2016 graduate of Cocoa High School, and currently plays as a safety for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Del Johnson and King’s Grill faces off against ‘fake bad reviews’ from Swifties
Del Johnson, mother of Eagles safety CJ Gardner-Johnson recently had to face off against a wave of “fake bad reviews”. The fake reviews came from Swifties who were posting it as revenge against for CJ’s posts on X about Travis Kelce and his famous girlfriend, pop star Taylor Swift.
Gardner-Johnson’s mother, Delatron Johnson, has been slammed with one-star reviews and negative comments about her sports-themed Rockledge, Florida restaurant, King’s Grill. On Yelp, the reviews signaled the website’s “Unusual Activity Alert,” with comments being temporarily disabled, while Google has begun to remove the restaurant’s fake reviews.
In a 2023 interview, Johnson had discussed establishing her previous coffee shop, Café Krewe 22, in 2020 when her son was on the New Orleans Saints team. Following Gardner-Johnson’s departure from the team, Johnson launched King’s Grill, with ‘King’ being her son’s childhood nickname and the middle name of her grandson, Cayden as she said, “I’m still pinching myself, coming from the background I have,” Johnson said about opening the restaurant. “This comes from being told I couldn’t and I wouldn’t. My hustle is personal.”
Del was previously married to Chauncey Gardner Sr with whom she had CJ before the two divorced with her then going onto marry Brian Johnson. Del Johnson who has three children became her own woman: a college graduate, homeowner, comforter and author.
Today, Johnson lives where she’s always lived, in Cocoa and that’s about all that’s recognizable from a childhood of being s*xually abused, battered and moved from home to home. She has written about all of it in her book, Fighting to Win, published in 2014 and the book details her life roughly from age 9 through 14, when a crack-addicted mother offered little of what Del and her younger sister needed from a mom.
When her own mother went to Miami for drug rehabilitation, she and sister LaShawn spent a brief time with a caring aunt and uncle before a social worker took her to live with her grandmother and her own older sister, Dequerio.
Del is also a residential director of a home for foster kids for Friends of Children and Families and has organized volunteers to feed homeless people around the county, collecting food and preparing meals leading up to the holiday.
Following their dominating Super Bowl LIX win, CJ Gardner-Johnson sparked some controversy with his comments on X. The Eagles safety posted a comment stating:
“Swifties gonna be crying to Jason about this” and “Honestly respect her for not wearing Chiefs gear.”
He was referring to the Kansas City Chief’s big loss and their tight end Kelce, who is dating Taylor Swift. In response, Chiefs and Taylor Swift fans started a frenzy as they hit back at Gardner-Johnson by posting fake Yelp reviews of his mother Del Johnson’s restaurant, the “King’s Grill.”
Swifties started harassing Del Johnson’s business on Monday evening, leaving negative comments on Yelp and Google. Many of the commenters were posting their first ever reviews, further showing their main reasons behind the reviews. As of now, Johnson has not responded with any comments over the issue.
Eagles’ fans to the rescue
😳 CJ Gardner-Johnson just posted this on his story. “Should’ve stayed w that thick s****” pic.twitter.com/10eBSLey1q
— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) February 10, 2025
Despite the whole nature of the incident, Del Johnson also later received immense support from Eagles fans. An NFL sports reporter named Dov Kleiman wrote on X:
Awful: #Chiefs fans and Swifties are leaving fake bad reviews to CJ Gardner-Johnson’s mother’s restaurant … Sports are never this serious. Make sure to show your support to King’s Grill in Rockledge.”
Following which Eagles fans quickly jumped to the rescue by showing their support for the player and the business. In just under 24 hours, hundreds of Eagles fans left positive reviews on Yelp and Google reviews for Del Johnson and her restaurant.
King’s Grill
The King’s Grill is a family-friendly sports bar located in Rockledge, Florida. CJ Gardner Johnson’s mother, Del Johnson, owns the business, and the outlet makes its Eagles connection very clear. Aside from owning the Kings Grill, Del Johnson also purchased Village Beir Garten, a bar and restaurant in Cocoa Village.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s biological dad, Chauncey Gardner Sr., was there for him in the early years, but it was his stepdad, Brian Johnson, who molded him into the player and the man we see today.