Every Celeb Caught Leaving Terrible Tips

Anyone who has ever worked in the restaurant industry knows that a server's tips can make or break their earnings, so it's disappointing to find out that some wildly successful and wealthy celebs are rumored to be less-than-generous when it comes to leaving gratuity. Unluckily for them, however, a number of disgruntled waiters have been more than willing to tell the tales of well-known figures who've tipped well below the 20 percent mark.

Read on to see all the surprising names who've been caught pinching pennies and exercising their inner-Scrooge. 

Despite being one of the stars of HBO's hit show Entourage (2004-11), actor Jeremy Piven put some seriously D-list behavior on display in 2007 when he allegedly left nothing but a DVD of the show as a tip (what!) at high-priced restaurant Matsuhisa (part of the Nobu empire) in Denver. 

The New York Daily News reported that, according to a source, "[Piven] came in with a large group of 12 or more without reservations and asked for a table. It was a very busy night, but a table, although cramped, was provided. On his way out, he made a nasty comment to the manager: 'Thanks for nothing.'" No, no, Piven, thank you for nothing.

Through a rep, Piven claimed, "I'm such a fan of Nobu and all of his restaurants. I had a great dinner at the Nobu in Aspen. As always, the meal was excellent and the service was great," but his alleged bad behavior and crummy tip reportedly saw him banned from the Denver restaurant and the New York City and Los Angeles Nobu locations, too.

As of 2018, Forbes put golfer Tiger Woods' net worth somewhere in the realm of $800 million. Taking this astronomical figure into account, we really can't see any excuse for the August 2011 report that Woods allegedly once took back a $5 tip from a blackjack dealer after realizing he'd already tipped said dealer (though he was reportedly playing $10k a hand at the time). Word on the street is that the golfer intentionally doesn't carry cash to avoid the responsibility of offering gratuity. 

In 2014, Woods' former coach, Sean Foley, came to the golfer's defense, pointing out that Woods does leave good gratuities, just maybe not at blackjack tables. "They can talk about how he doesn't tip or whatever but it's just more b*******," Foley told ScoreGolf. "I've seen him tip caddies at local clubs $400 so I don't know where that comes from."

In Woods' shady case, we guess that's one (lame) way to handle things.

According to Forbes, basketball superstar Michael Jordan is one of the highest-paid athletes of all time, but his insane success hasn't necessarily translated into generous table manners. 

In March 2016, Uproxx reported on pervasive internet rumors alleging the former Chicago Bulls shooting guard was in the habit of not leaving a tip when he dined out. This extremely frugal behavior was confirmed in 2014 by fellow basketball star Charles Barkley, who told late night host Conan O'Brien that Jordan and former teammate Scottie Pippen are among the cheapest people he knows. "That's their secret to being rich," Barkley said. "They don't tip."

Longtime Las Vegas casino executive Rich Strafella told UrbanDaddy that he once witnessed Jordan gambling at a private table with fellow sports legend Wayne Gretzky. "Michael had ordered a drink from the cocktail waitress, and he gave her a five-dollar chip. Wayne took it off the cocktail waitress's tray, gave it back to Michael, grabbed a hundred-dollar chip from Michael's stack and put it on the cocktail waitress's tray. Then he said, 'That's how we tip in Las Vegas, Michael.'"

On behalf of waiters everywhere, thanks for calling Jordan out, Gretzky.

Barbra Streisand's tips allegedly aren't leaving anyone with fond memories. The Funny Girl (1968) star apparently felt like $10 was the appropriate amount to leave wait staff with on a $450 bill at an undisclosed restaurant. That's about 2 percent. Not only that, Streisand reportedly didn't treat the staff all too well. The New York Post shared a source's comments: "She demanded the best table, acting rude to everyone, and then barely tipped." 

Sounds like a meal that everyone would prefer to forget.

In 2008, NBA megastar LeBron James wasn't attracting any new fans when he allegedly left a $10 tip on an $800 bill at XO Prime Steaks in Cleveland. 

Relations were reportedly smoothed out later because, according to TMZ, the restaurant's manager issued the following statement: "For the record, XO would like to clear up a misunderstanding resulting from a story that appeared in the Cleveland Scene on May 7th... Upon completion of his meal, Mr. James paid his bill with a credit card. Our waiter mistakenly read the receipt, inferring that Mr. James had left him only a $10 tip. To clear up the misunderstanding, Mr. James arranged for an appropriate tip to be delivered to the restaurant for the waiter."

Phew! Looks like LeBron is only following in Pippen and Jordan's footsteps in terms of court skills, not restaurant etiquette. 

It's safe to say that the staff of Hollywood eatery One Sunset won't be asking singer Britney Spears to come back "one more time." According to E! Online (via Business Insider), the restaurant alleged that the pop star racked up a $251 bill with her entourage and left nada for the staff.

But there's a but. Perhaps we can forgive Spears' behavior, since she reportedly left a $100 tip on a $30 bill at The Cheesecake Factory in Thousand Oaks, Calif., after she initially forgot to pay the whole thing in the first place. 

Does good tip karma replace bad tip karma? Food for thought.

Remember TV host Rachael Ray's show $40 a Day TV show? Well, it turns out that part of the celebrity chef's strategy for helping viewers keep costs down while dining out may have been stiffing servers on gratuity.

A number of waiters have come out of the woodwork to suggest that Ray's standard tip hovers around 10 percent. According to MSN, she's also been accused of promoting tipping at sub-20 percent levels to her viewers.

What's the opposite of "yum-o?" Oh, we know: yuck.

Here's a bad tip two-fer: ex-Spice Girl and fashion designer Victoria Beckham and ex-Mrs.Tom Cruise and actress Katie Holmes dined out together in 2007 at the Mondrian Hotel's Asia de Cuba restaurant in Hollywood. How nice.

But, according to the Daily Mail, after Holmes paid the bill, the duo left without leaving anything in the way of gratuity. Their waitress reportedly attempted to chase them down, but was prevented from further contact by Beckham's security team.

Warren Sapp is undeniably an all-time NFL great. During his 13-year career as a defensive tackle, he was named to seven Pro Bowls, won a Super Bowl, and racked up nearly 100 sacks. Highly regarded for his football skills, Sapp is less lauded for his generosity with waitstaff.

According to TMZ, in July 2014, Sapp visited the Upper Deck Ale & Sports Grill in the greater Miami metropolitan area. He ordered up a moderately large amount of standard pub fare — some soup, an order of chicken wings, a Reuben with fries, a pizza, and to drink, a bucket of beer. His check totaled $69.39, and that's all that was deducted from Sapp's checking account that day because he wrote a big "O" on the receipt's tip line. To make it even more abundantly clear that he wished to leave no gratuity for his server, Sapp scrawled, "Boys Don't Tip!" across the piece of paper. A photo of the Sapp-signed receipt went viral, and remarkably, the ex-football star owned up to his actions (on Twitter) and defended them. He said that "the service was [the] worst" so he left an accordingly lackluster tip.

As for the "Boys Don't Tip" remark, Sapp claims that was a comeuppance to the server, who he said kept annoyingly referring to Sapp and his grown male dining companions as "boys."