Cards and letters offering support for Taylor Stewart have been delivered to the IHOP in Enid after Stewart had an experience with a hateful customer Monday. (Bonnie Vculek / Enid News & Eagle)

ENID, Ok. – Love is proving to be greater than hate for one Enid, Oklahoma employee.

Taylor Stewart waits tables at an IHOP Northwest of Oklahoma City and was finishing up a double shift Monday evening when a customer left her a note instead of a tip.

A man and three children came in for dinner, Stewart said, and there was a mistake with his order. 

“I fixed it and he was still rude the whole time,” she said. “They left a big mess and stormed out.”

Stewart was cleaning the table when she found the receipt for a $36 ticket with no tip — just a note: “Gay is wrong.”

Stewart said she thought he was being rude because of the mistake in the order.

“But I guess it’s because I’m gay,” she said. “It’s crazy.”

She showed the receipt to her girlfriend and posted a photo of the receipt to her Facebook page, where friends commented and told her to make it public.

“So I did, and they’re the ones who sent it to the news,” she said.

An Oklahoma City television station aired the segment Wednesday morning; by Wednesday afternoon, Stewart’s story had gone international with stories from Daily Mail UK and other news outlets. She said the New York Times had contacted her, too.

“My stepmom told me it’s all over, in French and Spanish and everything,” she said. “I wasn’t doing this for the publicity. I wasn’t trying to be famous or anything. I just did it to let people know how some people are these days.

“I think we should love who we love.”

Since the story broke, Stewart said she has received an overwhelming amount of support from friends and strangers.

“People are telling me they’re going to come in (to eat) and ask for me,” she said. “And just now, someone came in and gave me a card with $10 in it.”

“Dear Taylor,” wrote the person who did not sign her name. “I just saw an article on Facebook about what happened to you Monday. I am sure it hurt you and even though I cannot change that, I hope this will bring you some joy. God calls us to love, not judge. I put myself through college waiting tables. It is hard work and impossible to not make a mistake occasionally. Here is your tip and I hope your week gets better.”

Stewart said she is grateful for all the support she has received since Monday, including the mystery note woman. 

“I don’t know her name or anything and I want to tell her thank you,” she said.