Gay Kansas waiter left in tears over homophobic slur on receipt

A gay waiter in Kansas was left in tears after a customer left a homophobic insult on his receipt instead of a tip, but the incident has raised thousands of dollars for LGBTQ+ education organizations.

Noah Bielig, who worked at Bubba’s 33 in Wichita and had painted nails and a pride bracelet, was serving a group of men two weeks ago when she felt at least one of them staring at her.

“When I first approached the table, they gave me a few dirty looks, and then every time I walked away they started laughing a little,” he told news station Kake ( Daily Mail).

After the group left, Bierig returned to the table to find that they had not left a tip, and instead had written the homophobic insult “f****t” on the receipt.

“I’m not the type of person who cries at work.”

The 19-year-old waiter continued: “It really hurt me. I’m not the type to cry at work but this was the first time that’s happened to me.”

The receipt, which bore the man’s name and signature, was shared online by one of Bierig’s friends and quickly went viral, with many expressing outrage over the incident and the man responsible issuing an online apology.

The man wrote on Facebook that he regretted his actions and later deleted his social media accounts.

The customer promised that this would never happen again.

Bierig said the incident made her want to show that “we can always keep smiling” and be happy, adding that “you don’t have to hate someone, you can always love.”

Despite the negative experience, his friends set up an online fundraiser and thousands of dollars were pledged.

Bierig said the money will be donated to GLSEN, an educational organization that works to end discrimination, harassment and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Baba’s33 has pledged to match the amount.