A man whose viral video shows him leaving zero tip for a 'rude' waitress says the whole thing was a joke

• A Tikoker posted a video that appeared to show him leaving no tip for a "rude" waitress.
• In the comments, TikTokers couldn't agree on about whether his tipping etiquette was acceptable.
• Antoni Correa, who posted the video, told Insider it was a joke and that he really left a 20% tip.

A video of a man who appears to leave zero tip after a bad experience at a restaurant has prompted a debate about gratuity in the service industry.

TikToker Antoni Correa, known as Tony C (@gameoftony) on the platform, posted a video on Wednesday that shows him leaving a negative tip on a receipt. The text overlaid on the video reads: "Wrong food, waiting forever, rude waitresses, so sad!"

According to his video, Correa appears to leave a tip of - $32.49, the cost of his meal with a negative sign before the amount, resulting in a total of $0. However, as you can see in the video, the receipt was a customer copy, and not the one obtained by the restaurant.

Speaking to Insider, Correa said the whole thing was a joke and that he ripped up the receipt right after he filmed the video, leaving a 20% tip for the restaurant worker who served him.

"I always tip 20% regardless, so I did at the place I had dinner as well," he said. " Half of the people understood the joke and half hate me now."

The video - which has more than 1 million views and close to 18,000 likes at the time of writing - has started a conversation about the ethics of not tipping if the service is poor, as TikTokers in the comments can't seem to agree on whether it's right or wrong.

"Tell me you've never worked in customer service without telling me you've never worked in customer service," user @dontjudgemekaren commented, followed by an eye-roll emoji.

Another user, @criminalmindsaddict1566, who said they used to be a server, seemed saddened by the post.

"I always tip even if there are issues," they wrote. "We are human. Mistakes happen. Remember these people live off tips."

But some others who said they have experience working as servers didn't seem to agree.

"I'm a waitress too," commenter @anniepants1223 wrote. "If they don't serve me properly then they don't get a tip."

"Tips are earned," @ashtebulte commented. "Good service equals good tips."

Tipping seems to be a heated topic on TikTok. In early August, a DoorDash delivery driver went viral on the platform after sharing a video that appeared to show him leaving a note for a customer who he said didn't leave a tip. But, according to the New York Post, he later claimed in another video that it was a stunt.