Greg Abbott Addresses Claims He Left a Waitress in Tears for Refusing a Tip

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has rebuked allegations made in a viral online post that he did not tip the staff at a Rainforest Cafe, saying he has never even visited the restaurant.

A post uploaded to Reddit late on Saturday said the Republican governor and a party of 20 did not tip two servers at the restaurant in Grapevine, Texas. The post included a comment taken from Twitter and was captioned "servers should be honored to serve Governor Abbott, right?"

In Texas, the minimum cash wage for a tipped wage is $2.13 while the basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate are $7.25. Restaurant servers often depend on tips from customers to supplement the low wages and make ends meet.

The tweet from Twitter user @DeniseBinAR came in response to a comment claiming that Abbott only gives small tips. She wrote: "My niece was a server at The Rainforest Cafe in Grapevine, Texas. Abbott came in with a party of 20. Two servers. Not one dime for a tip. His wife told my niece they should be honored to serve him. My niece, single mom, came home in tears."

Since being shared in the r/antiwork group on Reddit, the post attracted more than 89,500 upvotes and some 4,900 comments. Most of those who commented on the post bemoaned the tipping process or the governor's apparent behavior.

"Now i never did service so I'm by no means an authority on this but, I'm guessing honor can't be cashed in for food, security, or shelter," one Reddit user commented. Another said, sarcastically: "The Lord of the State came in to honor you with his presence. Be glad he didn't require you to bow and genuflect to him and his Lady wife. Texas is no longer a democracy, it is a Republican fiefdom."

A spokesperson for Abbott rebuked the claim he had failed to tip the servers and said he had not even visited the Grapevine restaurant.

Press Secretary Renae Eze told Newsweek: "The Governor has never been to the Rainforest Cafe in Grapevine, but looks forward to visiting it in the future. Having waited tables to pay for school after his dad died, Governor Abbott understands full well the hard work of restaurant staff to provide the best service and experience to their customers, while juggling the demands of the job."

Newsweek reached out to @DenseBinAR for comment.

According to data collected by the polling website FiveThirtyEight, Abbott is projected to remain governor of Texas after the November midterm election. The past six polls by YouGov, the University of Texas at Tyler and Quinnipiac University put Abbott ahead of his Democrat challenger, Beto O'Rourke.