Andrew Neil branded ‘arrogant’ for bragging about getting waiter fired over low tip

Broadcaster Andrew Neil has come under fire for his ‘dreadful attitude’ after revealing he got a waiter fired.

The Scottish journalist, 76, has long been believed to be a millionaire, having been one of the BBC’s highest-paid presenters during his tenure and reportedly earning £500,000 annually during his final years there. It’s been claimed that he has a net worth between £5-10million.

Therefore, when he admitted to giving a waiter a low tip and subsequently getting the employee fired when he requested more, it’s safe to say people weren’t showering him with praise.

Speaking on Times Radio, the journalist, who was the Sunday Times editor from 1983 to 1994 and who now hosts its daily lunchtime radio show, began: ‘I was upbraided for leaving only 15% – in cash, by the way.’

‘What did they say to you?’, he was quizzed.

‘The waiter came back in quite a New York, aggressive way,’ Andrew recalled.

‘I was taking some people out to dinner; I was the host. I was picking up the bill.

‘And he (the waiter) said quite loudly, “Was there something wrong with the meal or the service, Mr Neil?”

‘I said, “No, no, it was fine.” And he says, “Oh, because it’s (the tip) a bit light”.’

Andrew added that the server made the remark ‘in front of everyone’, leaving him ’embarrassed.’

Still, he dug out some more dollars and gave a larger tip. However, he took revenge later that night via his connection to the restaurant.

‘He was unlucky, because I happen to know the owner of that restaurant,’ Andrew smirked in the clip.

‘And I called the owner later that night, and he was fired in the morning,’ he revealed, causing the interviewer to gasp.

It’s clear that Andrew still finds the ordeal amusing, believing he had the last laugh. But when footage of him telling the story was shared on social media, the comments were far from in his favour.

On Instagram, @snoop_d.o.d.d wrote sarcastically: ‘Millionaire bragging about working chap getting sacked. Quality bloke’.

‘Why doesn’t his good friend the owner pay a living wage to his staff instead of customers subsidising the wage bill to maximise the owners profit’, asked @mikepiaza44.

‘Imagine being proud of causing someone to lose their job!!’, wrote a stunned @cutter1980, while @rpmalone66 called Andrew ‘harsh’, pointing out the differences in tipping culture in the US versus the UK.

‘in the States 15% is not considered generous at a restaurant’, he said.

Indeed, 15-20% is considered a normal tip at most establishments in the States. In some cases, notably for large parties, restaurants automatically add a tip of around 18-20% to the bill.

@terryfarley further branded Andrew’s behaviour ‘snide’, and @mistercollins.design said the footage is ‘such a bad look’ for Andrew, who ‘comes across as superior, arrogant and entitled’.

A fuming @oddiealex urged Andrew to ‘hold your head in shame’, calling what he did ‘disgusting’.

Former Channel 4 presenter Andrew is not typically backwards in coming forward with his opinions, particularly on matters of politics and international affairs.

Andrew, who left the BBC in 2020 after 25 years of presenting its political programmes, was further branded ‘hypocritical’ in 2023 when he weighed in on former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker’s impartiality row.

Speaking on Newscast, he said he believed it was ‘right to sort it out’, adding that, as ‘the face of the BBC’, the former footballer had to be subject to ‘some rules’.

In response, many pointed out that Andrew himself crossed the lines of impartiality while working for the broadcaster, including by making a pejorative comment about Carole Cadwalladr, comparing her to a ‘mad cat woman’, and also accusing the BBC of promoting ‘anti-British drivel’ in the form of a Horrible Histories song.

Following his BBC departure, Andrew became the founding chairman of GB News and a presenter on the channel, a role that came to a rather bitter end, however, when he resigned in September 2021 after a matter of months.

He later said he left over the decisions the channel was making, claiming that he had become a ‘minority of one’ within senior management. While he remained a commentator on the show after his exit, it’s believed these comments angered bosses.

Andrew joined Channel 4 in 2022 to front The Andrew Neil Show and, two years ago, began his daily Times Radio broadcast.

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