The Indian YouTuber who divided the internet by complaining about a $5 (roughly ₹400) tip in a US restaurant once bragged about earning ₹35 lakh a month. Ishan Sharma started a massive row by refusing to tip his server at a New York eatery, prompting her to keep his balance amount of $5 as tip for herself.
He complained about the incident in a deeply divisive post on the social media platform X. While some voiced their support for the Indian YouTuber in refusing to tip his server, others accused him of ignoring the social norms of a different country.
In his post, Sharma said that his server refused to return the balance amount of $5 after he ordered food worth $45 and paid $50 in cash. “I asked for change and she said ‘you have to pay the tip’ and went away,” he claimed. The Indian YouTuber asked the server if tipping is mandatory, but his query was ignored.
(Also read: Indian man sparks a row by leaving only 10% tip in US restaurant, claims waiter kept his balance amount)
He called tipping in the United States a scam in his X post. However, leaving a tip of 15 to 20% is standard practice while eating out in the US. Sharma even admitted that his friend, a local, felt guilty that he left a tip of only 10% - and that too after arguing with the server.
{{/usCountry}}He called tipping in the United States a scam in his X post. However, leaving a tip of 15 to 20% is standard practice while eating out in the US. Sharma even admitted that his friend, a local, felt guilty that he left a tip of only 10% - and that too after arguing with the server.
{{/usCountry}}Plenty of X users, both Indians and Americans, criticised the content creator for his act. The issue became murkier after some social media users dug up an old video where Ishan Sharma claimed to have earned ₹35 lakh in a month.
Take a look at the video below:
In the old clip, Sharma said that he earned ₹35 lakh in a month and called it a “small amount.”
X users were enraged by the throwback video and criticised the YouTuber for creating an issue out of ₹400 while earning so much. They accused him of being rude and stingy while willfuly ignoring the fact that tipping is customary in the US.
“Cheap people like him made Indians hated,” one X user commented.
“It’s not about how much money someone makes—it’s the mindset of cheapness that’s deeply ingrained in us. This idea of 'save money wherever you can' runs through the veins of many Indians,” another opined.
However, a number of social media users also supported Sharma and said tipping should be a personal choice and cannot be enforced as mandatory.