With a predominately Gen Z and millennial audience, TikTok has become the perfect app for young women to document their dating experiences—the good, the bad, and in the case of TikTok user Winta Zesu (@winta_zesu), the borderline unbelievable.
In a video that has been viewed 4.7 million times, Zesu appears to capture the moment her date, who she dubs a ‘finance bro,’ not only asks her to pay, but also asks her to pass her card to him because he has “a reputation to maintain” at the restaurant.
“What about your reputation with me?” she asks the date, who is off-camera.
After this, the atmosphere for the rest of the date seems to remain tense, as she repeatedly asks the man to stop talking so she can eat and leave, while he angles toward ordering dessert.
“You don’t have a trust fund?” he asks her. “Like, I thought you were rich.”
“I am!” she responds, “But I don’t want to pay for it.” The date then graciously adds that if he could, he would pay for the meal with his trust fund but he doesn’t get it until he turns 35.
This isn’t Zesu’s first awkward encounter in a restaurant. Back in June, she received 9 million views for a video in which she was kicked out of a restaurant for using silverware to eat a burger. Given that Zesu frequently posts TikToks involving confrontations in New York restaurants, it’s clear that her content isn’t all that it seems. Either that, or the 88 TikTioks on her account she’s categorized under “restaurant incidents” means she’s just very, very unlucky.
But is this video documenting her dreadful date actually staged? All the evidence points to yes. An April article by Insider suggests that Zesu’s videos are designed to parody “stereotypical influencers,” so it’s likely this video is an extension of that, while also taking a swipe at finance bros and trust fund babies for good measure.
Regardless, viewers of her latest video seemed to firmly believe what they were seeing—partly because many of them have had their own real-life encounters with similar dates.
One commenter dubbed it “the date from Hell,” while another wrote, “I’m begging you to tell me this is a skit, because my rage issues would’ve had me screaming that he’s broke in that restaurant.”
A second said, “Nah separate checks. Separate tables at that point. I don’t know you.”
Someone else pointed out, “Shouldn’t a finance bro… have finances?”
All in all, commenters were aghast at the man’s audacity, dubbing the situation as “insane” and a “new low” for dating.
Zesu did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot for comment via email.
