Rock star Jon Bon Jovi attracted a new fan and new admiration online after a Facebook user shared his own testimonial praising the singer and entrepreneur for putting in work to help others amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But it was not the first post of its type to be widely shared.
In his March 27 2020 post, Garry Conley wrote:
I have a confession to make. I would not know Jon Bon Jovi if he walked in this building. I cannot name a single song he has ever recorded. It’s not that I don’t like him or his music, I have just never really been exposed to it. This superstar is washing dishes at one of his JBJ Soul Kitchen restaurants that feed the homeless. They’re still cooking. Still making food for those in need during these uncertain times. And instead of disappearing to wait out the pandemic in a fancy penthouse somewhere, Jon Bon Jovi is showing up to be a dishwasher.
Now THAT’s what it means to be a rock star.
Conley’s post, which has been shared more than 82,000 times on the platform, was accompanied by an actual photograph of Bon Jovi taken at the JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, New Jersey. The restaurant is owned by his charitable group, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. According to its website, the foundation “has helped provide support for over 600 units of affordable and supportive housing in 10 states for thousands of people including youth and veterans.”
The photo was first posted to the singer’s Instagram account on March 19 2020, three days after the foundation announced that its Red Bank and Toms River locations would be open for carryout orders only, with priority given to visitors most in need of food.
“If you can’t do what you do… do what you can,” the singer wrote alongside the photo.
As the post spread, Conley encouraged others to donate to the foundation.
“This post has nearly 80,000 shares now,” he wrote at one point. “This group of fans could fund the foundation forever.”
However a second Facebook user, Liv Lane, contacted us to note the similarity between Conley’s post and her own expression of gratitude toward the singer which she posted eight days earlier. She wrote:
This put a lump in my throat this morning. This superstar, whom I’ve adored since I was 13, is washing dishes at one of his JBJ Soul Kitchen restaurants that feed the homeless. They’re still cooking. Still making food for those in need during these uncertain times. And instead of disappearing to wait out the pandemic in a fancy penthouse somewhere, Jon Bon Jovi is showing up to be a dishwasher.
Now THAT’s what it means to be a rock star.
Lane’s post was shared more than 137,000 times on the platform. We contacted Conley to ask if it inspired his own post on Bon Jovi.
Update, April 7 2020 9:52 a.m. PST: Updated to note the spread of Liv Lane’s post praising Bon Jovi and the similarity between the post she wrote and Conley’s.