Karen’s Diner waitress in hot water for ‘gross’ bulimia comment

A Brisbane woman has filmed the staggeringly insensitive way a waitress at a famous diner chain responded to her dessert order.

A woman has filmed the unbelievable moment a waitress told her she was “bulimic” after she ordered dessert.

Influencer Cherry Hart shared the tense exchange online, where the clip quickly went viral – racking up over 200,000 views in a matter of hours.

The young woman was recording a waitress taking her order, and was shocked after she was told she “looked bulimic” – a remark many in her comments section believed crossed the line.

Bulimia is a serious type of eating disorder, whereby an individual binge eats a large amount of food, and then purges the extra calories, usually through self-induced vomiting or overexercising.

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The waitress told the woman she "looked bulimic". Picture: TikTok / Cherry Hart

Many of her followers were shocked at the staff member's comments. Picture: TikTok / Cherry Hart

“That one time at Karen’s Diner I got called bulimic, cue my uncomfy awkward laugh,”

Cherry captioned the video.

“Came across some stuff lately so I thought I’d post my experience.”

In the clip, Cherry is sitting at a Karen’s Diner in Brisbane with a male companion when the waitress takes her order.

“Can I please get the Karen’s Seasonal Waffle Bowl, and the Nutty Karen?” she asks, as a staff member writes down her request.

“You do realise that dessert is f**king huge, I doubt you’re going to eat it,” the waitress responds.

“You look like you’re bulimic.”

Cherry then replies with what she calls her “uncomfy laugh”, to which the waitress adds “you laughed, so I must be right.”

She and her companion were left speechless. Picture: TikTok / Cherry Hart

Many people in the comments said it would have triggered their eating disorder symptoms. Picture: Instagram / Cherry Hart

Many of her followers slammed the staff member’s comment as “gross”, “triggering” and said it went “too far”.

“That is way out of line, I’m so sorry” one person said.

“Oh Jesus that’s not OK, as someone who sufferers with an ED it’s hard enough for me to eat on a night out, so this would upset me so much.” another shared.

“This would break me. I’ve never had bulimia but I struggled with anorexia for so many years. I thought they weren’t allowed to make body comments?” one asked.

Others thought that the woman should have expected this type of behaviour.

“That’s the whole point of the restaurant, is to get made fun of and offend people” commented one.”
“Isn’t that one of those places where the staff are paid to insult you though?” asked another.

Karen’s Diner is an Australian chain of restaurants that pride themselves on their “rude service” and “non-existent manners”, where staff go to great lengths to act in an unprofessional manner.

While patrons can expect to be made fun of, there are limitations – no racist, sexist, homophobic or ableist comments or slurs are allowed, according to their website.

The rules also state that there will be no body shaming or sexual harassment, and vandalism and food throwing will not be tolerated.

The restaurant has rules for how far people can go. Picture: Karen's Diner

Another woman filmed her friend getting a paper bag put over her head. Picture: TikTok / Bec Hardgrave

Karen’s Diner made headlines earlier this week, when an angry customer was filmed lashing out at restaurant staff after they allegedly made fun of his receding hairline.

Queensland health coach Bec Hardgrave shared the shocking altercation on her TikTok page, where it rapidly went viral, and has since gained over 5.2 million views.

“Me and my friends went to Karen’s Diner, and safe to say I probably won’t come back,” she began.

“I know they’re paid to be mean to you, but it was a little too hectic. They were making offensive comments about people’s appearances.

“They told my friend she needs to brush her hair, how mean is that. They told my other friend that she was too old and threw cups at us.

The man was seen yelling at a member of staff. Picture: TikTok / Bec Hardgrave

Bec claims they made fun of his 'receding hairline'. Picture: TikTok / Bec Hardgrave

“They got this other group of older ladies to leave, like actually stand up and leave. They said it over the microphone and had an alarm blaring.

“These ladies actually got up and left, I’m not sure if they paid or not.”

After saying that the food was just “OK”, Bec went on to talk about the incident she witnessed with a male customer.

She claims the staff made fun of the man’s receding hairline – and it did not go well.

“Get this, they told this guy that he had a receding hairline, and this is what he did.”

The red-faced man can be seen yelling at staff, while a pile of straws and napkins lay all over the entrance, suggesting he may have thrown them on the ground in a fit of rage.

“What’s the one thing your f**king sign says? No body shaming!” he screams, while pointing to a sign hanging on the wall.

News.com.au has contacted Karen’s Diner for comment.