Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner defended a 2013 Reddit post asking “why black people don’t tip,” telling Pod Save America last week that he was “legitimately curious” and did not mean it “in any malicious way.”
Platner’s remarks — coming as his old Reddit history dogs his Senate bid — reframed the controversy around his explanation, not the post itself. He said a black bartender later walked him through “structural injustice and feelings of lack of agency,” which he now cites as context for his question. (RELATED: REPORT: Graham ‘Working-Class’ Platner Attended Expensive Prep School With Deep State Alumni)
The Reddit post in question was first reported by The Maine Monitor and the Bangor Daily News.
“I was legitimately asking the question,” Platner said. “I’ve re-read a lot of the comments for obvious reasons… That one, I must say, like, I mean, I was legitimately curious and it was certainly not meant in any malicious way.”
The 2013 exchange that’s at issue came in a thread inviting users to ask someone of another race a question. Using the handle “P-Hustle,” Platner wrote: “I work as a bartender and it always amazes me how solid this stereotype is… Every now and again a black patron will leave a 15–20% tip, but usually it [is] between 0–5%. There’s got to be a reason behind it, what is it?”
Pressed on the broader slate of resurfaced posts — including ones minimizing military sexual assault and musing about political violence — Platner has apologized and blamed a dark post-deployment period, but was less apologetic about the tipping comment, signaling he doesn’t lump it with the remarks he now disavows.
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