Sonja Morgan hasn’t been on the Real Housewives of New York for years, but that doesn’t mean her clout has diminished… according to her. Sonja dined at NYC Italian eatery Tucci over the weekend — she had made a reservation for three and they still accommodated her when she showed up a party of five — and she was shocked, SHOCKED when at the end of the evening the server handed her, wait for it, a bill! You see, Ms. Morgan thought it was all fully understood that her payment would be in the form of a “promotional post,” and, to be fair to her, Tucci had previously comped Sonja a few times. So after pitching a Bravo-worthy fit, Sonja called up owner Max Tucci (no relation to actor Stanley), and yeah, he did not mince words in confirming that the meal, which came to just under $1,000, would not be on the house. Also, Max cited Sonja’s history of not tipping the waitstaff as part of his grounds for banning her from Tucci, effective immediately. That’s a packed episode!
Ex-”Real Housewives of New York City” star Sonja Morgan caused quite the scene at Noho hotspot Tucci on Saturday after the restaurant refused to comp her bill, we hear.
She called owner Max Tucci after being handed a $1,000 check demanding a comp because, among other things, she’s a single mother.
“She was absolutely hysterical and refused to pay. It was like she was filming a ‘Housewives’ episode, shouting, ‘I’m a celebrity!.’” a source claimed to Page Six.
By Monday, Morgan had paid the bill, including a tip. But we’re told she’s no longer welcome at the spot.
We’re told that she has indeed been given free meals by the restaurant in the past, and she had mistakenly assumed that that would be the case on this occasion.
Morgan, 61, began on a dicey ground, booking a table for three but arriving amidst a busy weekend night with a party of five. (We’re told the group stopped by for dinner and to pregame before hitting up her cousin Jack Morgan’s 30th birthday celebration at Boom Boom.)
Things went downhill when the server delivered a bill for almost $1,000, the onlooker shared.
“She was like, ‘I don’t pay; people pay me [to go to their restaurants].’ She was absolutely entitled and caused a scene about not paying.”
But we’re told that after she spoke to Tucci, it became clear that he had no intention of giving her dinner on the house.
Morgan confirmed to us “there was a clear miscommunication,” adding, “I believed I was dining in exchange for a promotional post. … I made that known to staff.”
A fed-up Tucci, however, is sticking up for his staff and has now blacklisted Morgan from the restaurant.
“It’s not about me. Don’t do that to my staff,” he told Page Six.
“The cost of everything is so expensive right now [for restaurants], and she’s just taking advantage. … There was no arrangement for her to have a comped dinner. She just wanted free food and service.”
In perusing the comments to this story on Page Six, I was surprised to see how many people wanted more details on the restaurant’s history of comping Sonja. Some even sided completely with Sonja, saying, “well if she’s used to getting free meals there…” Which, yeah I get the logic behind that argument, but it still feels iffy to me. Clearly, there was a lack of communication from one or both sides. I just can’t get past Sonja behaving like a total brat! And not in the cool Charli XCX way! I would be mortified in all aspects of this situation, even with saying to staff, “my payment is a social media post,” as Sonja alleges she did before the meal. So being an ardent observer of human behavior, my question is: is there something about acquiring money that causes someone to act entitled when dining out? Or were people like Sonja Morgan and James Corden rude customers even in their poorer days? For the sake of science, I’m willing to offer myself up as a subject to test if upon becoming wealthy, my restaurant etiquette takes a nosedive.
PS — Regarding that “single mother” comment, Sonja’s daughter is in her mid-20s.
PPS — Real question: is there a point at which we age out of being able to use the word “pregame” to describe our own activities? Asking for a friend…
photos credit: Robin Platzer/Twin Images/Avalon, IMAGO/RW/Avalon
Well if she is no longer in Housewives she doesn’t have the clout she thinks she has anymore and if she didn’t too the staff then she deserves to be told never return you are no longer welcome. She doesn’t pay for meals what an over reaching bitch!
Yes, the point at which we age out of using “pregame” for our own activities is the moment we’re born.
Nice! I was going to say “Today. Today is when you age out of that.”
I am not surprised that some people who read the article were on her side. This story was in the NY Post, the same paper that runs entirely positive articles about Trump and company and the comments are always in his favor.
Having lived in NYC and interacting with people similar to Morgan and Corden, I have learned that wealth, prestige, affluence, or influence does not guarantee manners, couth, culture, or class. Trash is trash and can come in many different flavors.
Yep. Living in NYC, I’ve encountered my fair share of entitled celebrities and the worse behaved security/staff/entourages. Which in a place like NYC is even more ridiculous because outside of tourists and paps, no one who lives here gives af about celebrities.
Have to say though, the best well-behaved celebrities AND their security (really, the security is the WORST) has been Beyonce and JayZ and their security. They like to go to a tiny pizza place around the corner from me…a place notoriously packed and they don’t take reservations. But B and JZ and their security are ALWAYS so polite, gracious, and courteous. I was impressed. And their skin up close? like a baby’s bare butt. Like I’ll take what their having. lol
One of the big reasons that rich people stay rich is that they are cheap.
Sonja doesn’t have money, or she does but still spends well beyond her means. She’s not married to a Morgan anymore, and now that her daughter is an adult, any support payments have stopped. I sadly used to waste my time watching RHofNY, and could see from the get that something was off. She was always trying to sell that house, or get contractors to fix it for free. Always had unpaid college kid ‘interns’ helping her in the house doing who knows what because it’s not like she ever worked. Wore designer clothes but kept the tags on them so she could return them after. She’s a grifter who once bagged a very wealthy man. That’s it. And yeah, now that she’s not on a Bravo show anymore, her social media posts are not worth much.
Speaking of being married to a Morgan, how would she claim that Jack Morgan is her cousin?? By marriage?? — even though she hasn’t been married for a while?
That’s it exactly. I commented as much lower down. I, too, used to waste time watching RHONY. Sonja made a big deal out of ‘JP’ [Morgan] all the time, just JP-ing left, right, and center one evening meal at her home over the JP-embroidered napkins they were using at the table. He was her ex-husband’s ancestor, not hers.
And she let that beautiful townhouse fall down around her ears because she had no money, made no money (other than RHONY), and spent like a madwoman. Like a lot of ‘rich’ people, she’d spend money she didn’t really have & a lot of places–like restaurants, stores, etc.–would comp her for awhile, or allow bills to go unpaid for awhile figuring they’d be good for it, eventually, but no–she was never going to pay. I think she’s also finding it hard to come to grips with her age.
Isn’t there some kind of rule that influencers have to disclose if they’re promoting something in return for payments/products? #sponcon or #ad or #partner or something?!
Even if your meal is comped or you receive a discount, tip the server based on the FULL price of the meal!
Husband and I were at a very nice steakhouse in Las Vegas — our server had another table full of ‘influencers’…there were 6 of them, they ordered one appetizer and two specialty drinks. They took up space at his 6 top for an hour and took turns taking pictures and making duck faces with the appetizer and drinks while drinking water and asking for refills of bread – split the bill six ways and left a $5 tip.
Only one of the reasons why people like this boil my blood.
Ah geez. Here’s my encounter with an ‘influencer’ (well, tiktok-er at the very least): shopping in Target (against my better judgment) the other day looking for the toothpaste when some guy wearing board shorts, no shirt, giant bunny slippers, and a giant bunny head over his entire head, holding a phone on his selfie stick walking around the store. I glanced at him & then ignored him. I did NOT want to give him the attention he so obviously craved. Nor did I want to end up in his stupid little performance. I feel for the employees who have to deal with people like that.
Just assuming you can bring 5 people for a 3 person reservation would put my back up.
I don’t even know who this is, and she feels entitled to a free $1000 dinner?
I came here to say the same. No one knows who she is, how does she think she can pay with a promotional post?
I also came here to say I have no idea who this is.
And even if I did — go out according to your means and be prepared to give a 20% tip. Don’t have the money to tip? Or pay for your meal? Don’t go out.
“I don’t pay”—really?
I don’t even know who she is (WAS). this is the thing that she’ll be known for always.
I’ve dined a few times when the bill (or even part of it) was comped. General rule is that you tip on the total tab, which means she shouldn’t have even gotten up from the table without putting down at least $250.
most of the time people who get their meal comped make sure that the house gets something in return, and I’m not talking about a social media post by some nobody has been.
She’s a never was.
Who does she inspire to eat at a place with a $200 per person meal?
I assumed the wine bill was the real expensive item, not the food. Restaurants and bars get high profit margin from drinks, not food/meal.
My friend who doesn’t drink and lived in a wealthy suburb, went out for a mom’s night with her kid’s schoolmates’ mothers. Those white women (yes, except my friend, none of them were POC) acted like they’re back in college days, order many glasses of wine (which was priced at about half or two-third of a main course). At the end of the meal, they said “go Dutch” for the bill, my friend was VERY not amused.
Disgusting behavior and worse, to not tip when it was comped.
‘Single mother’?? Sonja’s daughter has got to be in her 30s by now. [OK, just read the PS, she’s in her 20s; still. 🙄] And whoever Jack Morgan is, he’s not Sonja’s cousin. She married a descendant of JP Morgan, so that’s her married name. She got a lot of mileage out of her ex-husband’s heritage on RHONY.
Having watched all of the seasons of RHONYC she was in, I can assure you that Sonja is basically a teenager with way too much money and free time on her hands.