Misogyny disguised as humor is like a bad knock-knock joke – it’s not clever, it’s not funny, and it leaves everyone wishing they’d stayed home. Throw in a dose of male bravado, and suddenly, things get really uncomfortable.
That’s exactly what happened when one woman met a restaurant owner whose outdated views and cringey comments cost him an eye-watering $11,000. Let’s just say his attempts to impress didn’t land – unless you count landing himself in hot water. Now that’s what I call an expensive sense of humor.
More info: Reddit
When misogyny meets bad humor, it costs more than just pride
Image credits: Rachel Claire / Pexels (not the actual photo)
One woman was mocked and insulted by a misogynistic restaurant owner at a food tasting, making her back out of an $11k deal
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The woman and 3 male colleagues participated in a food tasting at an Indian restaurant where they were planning on organizing an event
Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The restaurant owner insulted and mocked the woman the entire night, assuming she was one of the men’s wife, but she was actually the one holding the credit card
Image credits: ENTPoncrackenergy
The owner was shocked when he realized the woman he insulted was actually the decision maker, causing him to lose the $11k deal
Our protagonist, a quiet but clearly capable woman, was scoping out an Indian restaurant with her 3 male colleagues. Together, they were planning a professional event and attended a food tasting to see if the venue could fit the bill. That’s when they met the restaurant owner, who immediately decided that the men in the group were in charge, and our OP (original poster) was… well, an accessory.
From the moment they sat down, it was one misogynistic joke after another. First, he asked one of the OP’s male colleagues if she could cook, casually tossing in some commentary about her slim figure, because apparently, body type determines culinary skills. Bold strategy. But the OP didn’t respond, opting instead for the kind of stare that could make even the most confident uncle sweat bullets.
The owner’s next gem was the classic ageist one. This guy implied that “younger ones” like the OP might go wild with shots. For context: she’s a practicing Buddhist who doesn’t drink, a fact her friend clarified. But rather than taking the hint, the owner took a sharp turn into even murkier waters, speculating that her friends must surely be party animals; you know, girls gone wild. Classy dude, isn’t he?
Still, our OP kept her cool, letting her silent disapproval do the talking while her male colleagues squirmed in their seats. By the time the owner brought out the spreadsheet and card reader, he’d already crossed the line from charmingly awkward to outright offensive.
And just when you thought he might finally read the room, he capped things off with a “joke” about her paying the £500 (just over $600) deposit, complete with a laugh at his own audacity. Our OP sure is a classy lady, because I’d probably be throwing plates by now.
At this point, most people would’ve walked out, but our OP remained calm and professional. She politely declined the venue, citing valid reasons like capacity concerns and overlapping events. But let’s be real—the owner’s attitude was the nail in the coffin. And when he turned to her male colleague for confirmation, her friend delivered the ultimate mic drop line: “Well, it is her event.”
I wish I could have seen the look on the dude’s face when he realized the woman he had insulted the entire evening was the decision-maker. But the OP got to see it and it was probably priceless. That awkward “oh no” moment? Worth every penny of the $11,000 he lost.
Image credits: peoplecreations / Freepik (not the actual photo)
To find out more about the situation, we've reached out to the poster for some comments. She told Bored Panda that she hasn’t had any communication with the restaurant owner after the incident and that he never apologized for his comments. The poster also mentioned that situations like the one in this story, where someone underestimated her role or authority, are very rare and uncommon for her.
We’ve asked the poster what her colleagues’ reactions to the owner’s comments were. She said that they didn’t step in, but that’s because they know she prefers handling things on her own. The remarks were subtle, and her colleagues understand that she approaches these situations in her own way. She wouldn’t want anyone swooping in to “rescue” her or escalating things unnecessarily.
We wanted to know if the poster would have handled the situation differently if she got the chance to go back. She explained that “silence was definitely the perfect response. There's this narrative that you have to ‘teach these people a lesson’- that is not my job, and I am not his mother. A 30-minute conversation with me is not going to undo the 60+ years of misogyny he has under his belt.”
The poster also wanted to add some personal thoughts. “I think I'd just like to add that majority of women work shoulder to shoulder with men and have been for decades. This is not a new development by any stretch of the imagination, so it doesn’t make sense to have this assumption that men are the sole breadwinners anymore.”
She also mentioned that this isn’t just a feminist perspective - it’s a fact, and people should take a moment to observe their own workplaces. At this point, it’s not just a gender issue—it’s a refusal to accept the reality that women have been building careers and earning money for decades.
What do you think of this story? Would you have handled things differently if you were in the OP’s shoes? Let us know in the comments!
Netizens applaud the woman for the way she treated the owner and for not engaging with him, some even sharing their own encounters with misogyny
