Greater Decatur, GA — Kallayah Jones’s moment of pure joy after nailing a job interview became a viral sensation and landed her a different kind of interview, seated across from Ellen DeGeneres.

Jones and her new boss, Dakara Spence, appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Oct. 12. According to “People” magazine, Jones struggled with homelessness for two years prior to interviewing for a job at The Spot Sports Bar and Grill in greater Decatur.

Jones said prior to the job interview, she had gone through “a very hard time.”

“I didn’t have any clothes,” she told Ellen. “… I didn’t have any sneakers or any flats or anything like that, so I came in slippers, and I was hoping and praying that she did not turn me away, because I needed this job. Like, I needed it. And when she didn’t turn me away, she said, ‘Come on, let’s go do the interview.’ I looked at her. I was like for real? Like are you serious? And she was like, ‘Yeah, come on.'”

Spence saw the dance on a security camera video when Jones left the interview and stood in the parking lot. The video, posted on TikTok, has racked up millions of views and has been featured in several news articles.

“I’m not here to judge nobody,” Spence told ellen. “My grandmother and my mother always said never judge nobody, because you never know what they’re going through.”

If there’s a lesson to be gleaned from the video, it’s an old one: don’t give up.

“Just because your’e going through a hard time, doesn’t mean that you can give up,” Jones said. “You can still dance your way through life and still act like nobody’s watching, and I promise you somebody is going to watch you and you’ll be OK.”

The segment ended with the show’s sponsor, Shutterfly, giving Jones and Spence a check for $15,000 to help them fulfill their dreams of returning to school to further their educations.

Here’s the segment from “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Here’s a CBS 46 report on the viral video:

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