We all love a good celebrity sighting, but ever wonder what happens when the cameras stop rolling and the stars step into restaurants? Get ready to dive into the juicy details as restaurant employees spill the tea on the cringe-worthy, funny, and downright weird encounters they’ve had with famous faces. From diva demands to awkward encounters, this article unveils the unfiltered truth about celebs when they’re off-screen and hangry. Prepare for some eyebrow-raising stories that will make you rethink your next fan encounter! All content has been edited for clarity purposes.
Table of contents
1. “There Were Only A Handful Of Celebrities Who Tipped”
“I worked in a celebrity-branded restaurant in Las Vegas and served many celebrities. At the restaurant, it was common to pay celebrities to be seen or photographed there. In return, all of their meals and drinks would be free. It sucked for the staff because we usually didn’t get tipped out by the restaurant. I usually gave celebrities the benefit of the doubt, and I figured they knew the staff wasn’t being taken care of. However, there were only a handful of celebrities who tipped at all.
LL Cool J was awful to serve. He was snobbish and ate with his sunglasses on inside the already-dark restaurant. Plus, he was MESSY. He and his group of 15+ people ate and drank all night for free. I never received a tip from him.
Another time, Drake was walking through the restaurant with his vast entourage. He shoved his way through one of the smallest waitresses, and she dropped all of her plates. Nobody even bothered to make room for her or help. No tip, either. Drake and his crew only treated restaurant staff well if they saw a camera pointed toward them. It was unforgivable.
Believe it or not, LL Cool J and Drake weren’t even the worst. Mike ‘The Situation’ from Jersey Shore was just as awful as you could probably imagine. He tried to smoke in the restaurant several times, which was illegal in Vegas. He kept walking around and standing on top of the booths that weren’t his. Upon his arrival, he spit his gum on the hostess stand. Of course, he didn’t leave a tip.
Nicki Minaj was one of the biggest divas I’d ever encountered. She had a team of servers in a private room, and she made staff members sign a waiver saying we wouldn’t look at her, address her, approach her, sing her songs, or talk about her music. We were only to ‘speak’ to her through her entourage. She was genuinely awful, and she wasted everyone’s night for no tip.”
2. “He Was Not Pleasant To Be Around”
“I have served several celebrities, and most have been very nice people. I noticed people generally didn’t get far in a public-facing role by being terrible to service workers.
However, a notable exception was Hugh Hefner. I didn’t know what he was like on Playboy mansion grounds, but he was not pleasant to be around in a fine dining setting.
He came in on multiple occasions, and each time was worse than before. Oftentimes, Hugh’s party was double the size of his reservation, and his security staff had to eat in the table storage area. Then, his security staff demanded that Hugh’s entire party be led through the small kitchen area so they could leave through the back exit.
More than once, he reached his hand into roll baskets while servers were carrying them to different tables. Plus, he could never hold on to his utensils. We had to deliver him five or six different sets of silverware each time he visited.
Hugh liked PDA—a lot. The servers and I often joked about how we were surprised his entourage didn’t chew up his food for him.
He didn’t follow normal eating conventions, and it was a big deal for an experienced fine dining server. A good server generally knew how long each course took for a normal person to finish. However, Hugh would scarf his food down in less than 5 minutes, then scream at the servers to take it away.
Finally, he always ordered the SAME desserts for his entire party. Maybe it was an ‘alpha’ thing, making everyone eat the same food. It weirded me out, though. It felt controlling.
Even though people considered Hugh the ‘classiest’ of smut peddlers, I felt like he was either too old or too delusional to care about normal society anymore.”
3. “He Was Awful To Work With”
“Years ago, I worked at a film studio. A few months into the job, Mike Myers filmed Love Guru at our location. He was absolutely AWFUL to work with. He was rude, demanding, and acted like he was the best person to ever exist.
My coworkers and I were given rules we had to follow when Mike was in the room with us. We weren’t allowed to talk to him or look at him. Even if we were just passing him in the hallway, we couldn’t make eye contact. It felt SO demeaning.
Mike would walk through the building, throw trash on the ground, and keep walking. No lie, he’d be drinking a can of soda, finish it, then toss the can on the ground and go about his day.
Because of his insane demands, my coworkers and I were ecstatic when his movie flopped.”
4. “She Was A Mega Witch”
“I worked as a chef, but I was actually at a restaurant as a guest when this incident occurred.
At the restaurant, a waitress seated my partner and me at a table. When I looked over, I realized I was sitting right next to Rachael Ray.
Rachael was a MEGA witch. The entire time she was there, she was snippy with the bartender and waitress. She called the waitress over, then would take forever to tell her what she wanted.
When Rachael finally got her food, the waitress asked, ‘How does everything taste?’
Rachael motioned as if to say ‘whatever,’ and didn’t respond. I didn’t see how much she tipped, but I imagined she wasn’t a good tipper, either.
Finally, on her way out of the restaurant, someone asked Rachael for a quick autograph. Her response?
‘Don’t talk to me.’
Pathetic.”
