November 16, 2023 marked the end of an era. After a decade of loyal employment, Walmart employee Gail Lewis signed off from her final shift in a tearful goodbye that went viral on TikTok. And so, the floodgates opened wide. TikTok is now inundated with duets and videos of Gail, honoring her faithful service to the retail giant.
I want to start by pointing out that my first several exposures to Gail Lewis' final moments as a Walmart employee were from other accounts dueting or discussing her original video. I had to HUNT for the O.G. version. That is how buried this thing is among the hundreds of TikTokers reacting to this woman's career change.
In the original TikTok, created and posted directly by and to Gail's account (under her username @fluffygaileena), we see Gail standing near the Christmas aisle at Walmart, speaking over her walkie-talkie for the last time to say goodbye to her store and fellow employees. As she sweetly shuffles her feet, Gail says, "Attention Walmart: This is Gail Lewis, ten-year associate, Morris, Illinois, 844, signing out. Goodnight." And just like that, she closed the chapter. Back in her car, she recounted the moment, telling viewers she was leaving Wally World for a better job.
@nfl all 🐐s move on eventually 🫡 #gaillewis #nfl #retirement ♬ you not the same - tilekid
The Gail Lewis Movement is no bottom-of-the-barrel topic on TikTok. This woman gained such widespread attention for her video, the NFL made a TikTok about it. Grouping Gail's sweet moment with the retirement speeches of big names like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and the Manning brothers, the TikTok is captioned "All GOATs move on eventually." We, and hundreds of commenters, ate this up. Whoever is running the NFL's TikTok account (@nfl) has one hell of a sense of humor.
@timlee750 🫡 #gaillewis #walmartgaillewis #walmart #gailfromwalmart #MemeCut #Meme ♬ original sound - Tim Lee
According to TikTok, Walmart is all but a wasteland without Gail, and the only way to accurately describe the disdain is obviously by way of the Tiger King himself: Joe Exotic.
@nasher Gail Lewis the 🐐 #gaillewis #walmart #hockey #mcdavid ♬ All Of The Lights - Kanye West
This is the beauty of the internet, guys. Just from her heartfelt sign-off video, TikTok users deduced that Gail was obviously the best employee Walmart has ever seen, completely on top of any and every task thrown her way. We have to believe the same because quite honestly, it just makes these videos all the more feel-good. Here's hoping Gail Lewis' new coworkers know what an icon they have in their presence!
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