Restaurant ridicules teen on social media for paying bill with coins

LYNCHBURG, Virginia -- A restaurant in Virginia is facing backlash on social media for ridiculing a high school student who paid his bill with coins.

Someone at the restaurant posted a picture on social media with the caption "How not to pay at a restaurant" and said it was "ridiculousness."

Cohen Naulty, 17, said he used the tips he earned as a server at another restaurant to treat his friends.

He paid the $45 tab with mostly coins and a $20 bill. He also included a $10 tip.

"It's just U.S. currency, I'm allowed to use it, it's not illegal, I'm not doing anything wrong," Naulty said.

After all the negative responses, the restaurant added another post, saying it was intended as a joke and they did not intend to publicly shame anyone:

"In response to our earlier post, it was posted as a joke, intended as a joke and should be taken as a joke. It was posted as a light-hearted way of saying that something like this can be annoying to people that work in the restaurant/retail industry. In no way did we publicly shame ANYONE for paying OR for tipping. We try to keep our page funny and relatable, and had no idea that his would be offensive to anyone."