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The Gay Waitress Vs. Bigots Hoax

When I saw the story the other day about the lesbian waitress who was stiffed for a tip by a couple of customers who disapproved of her homosexuality, I thought it was awful, but I held off on commenting because something didn’t seem quite right about it. Good thing that I did, because it was […]

When I saw the story the other day about the lesbian waitress who was stiffed for a tip by a couple of customers who disapproved of her homosexuality, I thought it was awful, but I held off on commenting because something didn’t seem quite right about it. Good thing that I did, because it was almost certainly a despicable hoax:

Two weeks ago, the story of a gay waitress who said she was refused a tip by a New Jersey couple went viral. But now, as with so many other viral stories, the account appears too good—or, in this case, awful—to be true: The couple has come forward with their copy of the receipt and their credit card statement as proof that the whole thing was a hoax.

On November 13, Dayna Morales, a former Marine and current server at Gallop Asian Bistro in Bridgewater, New Jersey claims she waited on a couple that insisted on calling her “Dan” and left a hateful note instead of a tip: “sorry I cannot tip because I do not agree with your lifestyle & the way you live your life,” the note allegedly read. Morales sent a photo of the note to Have a Gay Day, and it quickly went viral, generating thousands in donations for Morales.

But this week, a couple claiming to have been Morales’ customers that night contacted NBC 4 New York with seemingly irrefutable proof that Morales—or the restaurant—made the whole thing up: a copy of their receipt—with generous tip—that matches the total and timestamp of the receipt that Morales posted with a corresponding credit card statement.

Turns out that the couple claims they are actually in favor of gay rights, and refused to vote for Chris Christie for governor because he opposes same-sex marriage. When the TV station contacted the restaurant and the lesbian waitress to confront them with the new evidence, they started crawfishing. Note well that people have been donating money to Morales on the basis of her story.

So, this may well be a despicable hoax, but look on the bright side: Oberlin can end the campus lockdown it has no doubt imposed since news of the, um, gratuitous hate crime in Jersey emerged, and let its students leave the safety of their campus and go home for Thanksgiving.

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