Family Accused of Stiffing Tip for Gay Waitress Says They've Been Framed
A family in New Jersey is arguing that a gay waitress' accusation that she was stiffed on a tip and written a message criticizing her gay lifestyle is completely false and fabricated. The family, who has asked to remain anonymous, has gone to a local media station to argue they did in fact leave the waitress a tip, and that they have the credit card statement to prove it.
Dayna Morales, an ex-Marine and server at Gallop Asian Bistro in Bridgewater, N.J., made headlines earlier in November when she claimed she had been stiffed on a tip from a family and received a note on the margin of the receipt that read: "I'm sorry but I cannot tip because I don't agree with your lifestyle and how you live your life," referencing her gay lifestyle.
Since Morales' story has gone public, she has received over $2,000 in donations from those seeking to right the alleged wrong of the alleged stingy diners, and she has indicated her plans to donate the money to the Wounded Warriors Project, a charity that provides services to severely wounded veterans.
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Now, a family claiming to be the one accused of the "anti-gay message" has come forward to tell local WNBC-TV that because the story has become so popular, they want to set the record straight and make sure those who are donating money to Morales know that her claims are completely false.
"I just felt like people have a right to know that - it's fine if people want to donate to her or to the Wounded Warriors, but they're doing it under a false pretense," the wife of the couple told the local media station. The couple has chosen to remain anonymous to avoid further media scrutiny.
The anonymous couple told WNBC-TV that they believe they are victims of a hoax. They provided the television network with a copy of the receipt that shows they had written in a tip of $18, making their total meal $111.55, as opposed to the meal's total of $93.55 as shown on the receipt uploaded by Morales on Facebook earlier this month.
The two receipts appear to have been printed at the same time on the same date, and the couple has also reportedly provided the news station with a statement from their Visa credit card that indicates they were indeed charged a total of $111.55 at Gallop Asian Bistro on the day of the alleged incident.
The couple went on to say that they are pro-gay marriage and would never leave a note in the margin decrying someone's lifestyle choices, going as far to say that they didn't vote for Chris Christie as Governor of New Jersey due to his opposition to same-sex marriage. "Never would a message like that come from us," the husband said.
Morales told the local media station that she is positive there was no tip written on the receipt and that the handwriting in the margin of the payment slip is not hers, saying: "I don't know, all I know is what I've been saying."
The manager of the restaurant has said his business has no comment as it will be conducting an internal investigation into the couple's claims, but he did add that he has the original receipt for $93.55, although he refused to provide it to WNBC-TV.
Similar stories of waiters being stiffed on tips have gone viral in the past year. In one incident, a pastor from St. Louis made headlines when she stiffed an Applebee's waitress on a tip, leaving a note in the margin that read: "I give God 10 percent, why do you get 18?" The pastor, Alois Bell, was referencing the customary tithe offering given to churches on Sundays.
