Ohio realtor leaves ‘Hope Trump deports you’ note for disabled waiter —here’s what happened next

The incident occurred on Sunday at Cazuelas Mexican Cantina in Columbus, Ohio, United States.

Livemint
Published5 Mar 2025, 04:16 PM IST
The photo of the receipt has gone viral on social media.
The photo of the receipt has gone viral on social media.

In a racist act, an Ohio realtor wrote a xenophobic message on a restaurant receipt, telling a waiter, "I hope Trump deports you."

After her message went viral on social media, her real estate company fired her.

The incident took place on Sunday at Cazuelas Mexican Cantina in Columbus, Ohio, United States.

Stephanie Lovins, a real estate agent, wrote the message instead of leaving a tip for Ricardo, a US citizen and waiter who has a disability and works two jobs seven days a week.

 

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A fellow waiter shared a photo of the receipt on Facebook, sparking outrage and a wave of support for Ricardo.

Since then, the image of the receipt has gone viral on social media.

Before leaving the restaurant, the realtor wrote a hateful and racist message on her receipt instead of leaving a tip for the waiter.

"I hope Trump deports you," she wrote, adding "Zero. You suck!" in the space for gratuity.

According to the restaurant, Ricardo had served Lovins on March 2, when she reportedly became upset over the "one coupon per table" policy.

Meanwhile, internet users quickly identified Lovins' employer, Century 21, and flooded the company with complaints.

Later, the company removed Lovins from her job, stating, “Hate has no place within the CENTURY 21 brand.”

An X user with the handle ‘LongTimeFirstTime’ said in a post: “Stephanie Lovins at first made several social media posts denying it was her—claiming her credit card was "lost/stolen and somebody tried to use it”.

The post added, “When the video confirmed that it was, in fact, her at Cazuelas Mexican Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, she was fired from her job.”

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Ricardo's colleague, Isabel Nathalie, who first shared the viral post, said that he works seven days a week despite having a disability in one arm.

A GoFundMe campaign titled ‘Tip Ricardo: Because Hate Has No Place Here’ was also launched to support Ricardo.

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First Published:5 Mar 2025, 04:16 PM IST
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