A Texas waiter who claimed to have been stiffed by a racist customer now admits he made the whole thing up.
Saltgrass Steak House waiter Khalil Cavil went viral after posting a Facebook picture of a racist note that Cavil claimed a customer had left on the receipt, in lieu of a tip.
“I don’t tip terrorist,” the note read, alongside a circle of Cavil’s name.
Cavil’s Facebook post racked up thousands of shares and earned sympathetic coverage in The Washington Post and HuffPost, which were forced to post corrections atop their stories on Monday after Cavil admitted he fabricated the viral note.
“I did write it,” Cavil told the Odessa American, a local Texas paper, on Monday. “I don’t have an explanation. I made a mistake. There is no excuse for what I did.”
Cavil’s admission came after Saltgrass—which at first banned the offending customer for life—admitted that its investigation found the waiter had faked the note.
“After further investigation, we have learned that our employee fabricated the entire story. The customer has been contacted and invited back to our restaurant to dine on us,” Saltgrass Chief Operating Officer Terry Turney said in a statement.
“Racism of any form is intolerable, and we will always act swiftly should it occur in any of our establishments. Falsely accusing someone of racism is equaling disturbing.”
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