Controversy Surrounds Gay Waitress' Bigotry Claim

At first it seemed a bit disturbing, but simple enough. Then it took on a life of its own on Facebook. Now, it appears the whole thing may have been a scam.

This story starts with Dayna Morales, a former Marine who's now a waitress in New Jersey. She's also gay. That's why, she says, a couple racked up a $93 tab at one of her tables at Gallop Asian Bistro, but refused to tip a single cent. She even had the receipt and rude note to prove her mistreatment, later sharing it with the world via Facebook.

Morales sent an apparent photo of the receipt to Have A Gay Day, an organization that works to support and provide resources for people of a range of sexual orientations. In the photo, the receipt's tip line was left blank, and accompanied by a note reading, "I'm sorry but I cannot tip because I do not agree with your lifestyle and how you live your life."

Have A Gay Day then posted the photo to its Facebook page on Nov. 13:

The post was accompanied by an angry note from Morales:

NEVER in a million years did I think this would happen. Not only was it a family with two kids, but as I introduce myself and tell them my name is Dayna - the mom proceeds to look at me and say "oh I thought you were gonna say your name is Dan. You sure surprised us!"

Morales continued:

I am THOROUGHLY offended mad pissed off and hurt that THIS is what her kids will grow up learning and that I served in the Marines to keep ignorant people like them free.

The Facebook post, predictably, stirred outrage. It's been shared more than 4,100 times and Liked more than 9,700 times since going online, as national-news media picked up the story. For many, it's served as an ugly symbol of the bigotry and prejudice that gay and lesbian people face on a daily basis. Concerned citizens began sending unsolicited donations to Morales, which she said then donated to fellow soldiers, according to NJ.com.

Then, on Tuesday, a plot twist occurred. A major plot twist.

A couple contacted NBC 4 New York to say they were the unnamed alleged homophobic scrooges â€" but that Morales invented the entire story.

The husband and wife, who did not give their names, say they recognized their receipt on news reports. They provided NBC 4 with what they say is their copy of the receipt. It includes the same date and time stamp as the one Morales shared, as well as the same $93.55 subtotal. But it also includes an $18 tip, which brings the total bill to $111.55. They even showed the station a copy of their Visa credit card statement that includes the charge. They also say the receipt's nasty note does not match up with either of their handwriting styles.

Why did the couple come forward? "Because it's a disgusting thing to do, to write that," the husband tells NBC 4. "The restaurant profits from this. Obviously Dayna is profiting from this. And it's fraud. It's a scam."

Adds the wife: "I think there's enough hate and intolerance in the world that to create it when it wasn't there is shameful and dishonorable."

But Morales sticks to her story â€" kind of.

“That’s not my handwriting," she told NBC 4 in response to the couple's allegations that the receipt was doctored. “I don’t know. Again, I don’t know.”

The restaurant says it's investigating the matter internally, and that Morales is still waitressing. It's important to note that despite the couple's allegations, we don't yet know for sure whether Morales made the whole thing up.

But here's what we do know: Either a waitress was targeted for her sexual orientation by bigoted customers, or someone invented a fictitious encounter for personal gain. And neither of those scenarios is a positive statement on society.

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Image: Facebook, Have A Gay Day