Watch CBS News

Donnie Wahlberg Gives $2,020 Tip To IHOP Server For '2020 Tip Challenge'

ST. CHARLES, Ill (CBS/CNN) – Donnie Wahlberg has a reputation for being a big tipper, and he's starting off the new year on a generous note. The New Kids On The Block singer and actor from Dorchester has joined the "2020 Tip Challenge," and wife Jenny McCarthy has the receipt to prove it.

"@DonnieWahlberg starting 2020 off like the amazing man he is," McCarthy tweeted, along with a photo of the bill.

The receipt shows a $2,020 tip on a $78 bill at an Illinois IHOP. Wahlberg also wrote "Happy New Year" with a smiley face on the receipt.

The Tip Challenge started in Alpena, Michigan, where server Danielle Franzoni also received a $2,020 tip during the final days of 2019.

"Happy New Year," the anonymous couple wrote on the bill. "2020 Tip Challenge."

Franzoni couldn't believe it. She asked her boss whether it was too good to be true, but the tip was legit -- and seasonally appropriate.

"Things like this don't happen to people like me," she told the Alpena Times.

It seems the only stipulation of the 2020 tipping challenge is to keep the year in the total.

If you partake in New Year tipping, you don't have to go big -- Franzoni told the Alpena Times she later tipped a server $20.20 on her dinner bill.

"That was my 'pay-it-forward,'" she said. "I couldn't do the other one."

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN's Scottie Andrew contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.