Jason Derulo once left a tip so big on his $5,000 meal it covered the waiter’s semester of college

A restaurant server at Charleston’s Restaurant in Omaha went viral last year for sharing a heartwarming story. The waiter had received a massive tip of $5,000 from none other than singer-songwriter Jason Derulo, who was visiting the city with his family. The server, Jordan Schaffer (@jordanschaffer2), took to TikTok to express gratitude for the star. The shout-out for the star's act of kindness attracted love from fans all over.

Derulo Proves A Generous Tip Goes a Long Way

While many wondered why Derulo tipped so much, the reason was rather simple, he was being generous! However, as it turned out, Derulo had paid for the server's college tuition for an entire semester with his generous tip.

The server mentioned in the caption of the video that serving the singer and his family will be something he will never forget. In the video, the camera shows the server thanking the star and his family for the tip. 

"Wow, my heart's beating really fast," the server is heard telling Derulo while standing over the artist's table. The "Swalla" singer, simply responded by saying, "You guys are really awesome man." Derulo could be seen sitting at a large table surrounded by his family and friends.

The video then cuts to the server thanking the star and giving a shout-out. Smiling, Schaffer shows his viewers the receipt which shows that Derulo's bill was  $795.99 and he had tipped $5,000 bringing the total to  $5,795.99. "I can't believe it!" Schaffer said in the video. 

“Hey Jason, thank you, you just paid for a semester of my college. I can’t say thank you enough,” Schaffer said at the end of the video. He goes on to say that he hopes the star and his family have a wonderful time in Omaha and he sees them again.

Derulo commented on Schaffer's post, and reposted the video on his own TikTok account, adding the caption, "Blessed to be a blessing."

Fans showered love and appreciation for Derulo on Schaffer's video. "Omg, this is so awesome! I knew I loved this guy for a reason! I love stories like this!" wrote user @shannon.wilhite. Meanwhile some users shared stories of their interaction with the star as well. "One time I saw him in front of me in the Starbucks drive-thru, I yelled out and told him I loved his music…I was told he paid for my drink!" added user @tcherryluvr777. 

Given the current cloudy climate around tipping, fellow servers also appreciated Derulo's act. "As a server, I know just how much this meant to you!!! What a great guy!!!" wrote user @mama2seven. 

Several other stars have committed similar acts of kindness in the past. Back in 2013, global pop star Taylor Swift visited Ralph's Italian Restaurant in Philadelphia with tourmates Ed Sheeran and Austin Mahone. While leaving she left a $500 tip and two tickets to her concert for the chef's son who loved her music. 

In 2020, some celebrities like Tom Selleck took part in a social media "tip challenge" where people in fortunate positions added a little extra to their tips while dining out.

Donnie Wahlberg, who participated and helped spread the word about the challenge, shared that Selleck had left a $2,020 tip on a $204.68 bill.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on July 23, 2022. It has since been updated.