Ric Flair booted from Gainesville restaurant after profane rant

Professional wrestling icon Ric Flair vigorously defended his behavior over the weekend in a Gainesville restaurant, where video cameras showed him slinging profanities at a manager who ultimately asked him to leave the establishment.

Video footage of the incident surfaced Tuesday on social media. Flair, who now resides in Tampa, said he has patronized the restaurant several times in the past without incident — until this past weekend.

“Everything I said I’ll vouch for,” Flair said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. “And I’ll say it again.”

The incident began, Flair said, when he attempted to use the restroom and was approached by a restaurant employee who wanted to shake his hand.

“I go, ‘Man, I don’t shake hands or take pictures in the bathroom,’ which I think is a pretty normal response,” said Flair, 75.

“So instead of letting me use the restroom, he jumps in first. So I go, ‘OK, I’ll be cool. Just be nice. You’ve got your family here.’ So three minutes later ... you know, if you stand outside a stall you can see inside the stall. So, the guy is texting.”

Flair, who nearly died from a ruptured intestine in 2017, added that he told him: “I have to use the restroom, because I have a (medical) issue, which is none of your business, so quit texting your girlfriend and get out of the bathroom.’”

Upon exiting the restroom, Flair — who said he had been drinking beer but denied being drunk — said he was approached by a woman who appeared to be another restaurant employee.

“She goes, ‘What are you, some kind of a pervert, looking in the stall?’” Flair said. “I said, ‘What did you say to me?’ She said, ‘Why would you be a peeping Tom?’ So then of course, the manager came out. I go, ‘Ma’am you’re never going to talk to me like that. A peeping Tom?’ I mean, she was so rude.

“And that’s it. And then I went off.”

In the video, Flair — seen standing at a bar — responded angrily after being accused by the manager of cursing at the employee. Flair then said to another female employee standing nearby that, “I’m gonna give you a thousand-dollar tip just to say to (the manager), ‘Kiss my a--.’

When the manager informed Flair he must leave, Flair said, “Come outside here and talk to me like a man.” Another patron then intervened, inviting Flair to step outside with him. The video ended seconds later.

“We were having a great time,” said Flair, who was in town for his two youngest stepdaughters’ commencement exercises at the University of Florida, “And so then I go to these two people taking care of me. I said, ‘Here’s a thousand dollars.’ The rest of you can kiss my a--.’ ... I’ve got the receipts.”

In a prepared statement texted to the Gainesville Sun on Monday, Piesanos co-owner Jerry Roberts said “evidence was clear” as to why Flair was asked to leave but added the restaurant wouldn’t release the video. How it landed on social media Tuesday remains unclear.

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“We have reviewed video of the incident that took place recently at our restaurant,” Roberts wrote. “It is clear, our team worked in a professional manner to ensure the safety of guests and staff. We have thanked our team for their professionalism. We are proud of how they responded to this situation using and displaying our team values.”

A 16-time world champion (including two stints as World Wrestling Federation champ), Flair — universally known as “The Nature Boy” — has a longstanding association with the University of Florida. He has appeared on the Florida Field sideline for a number of Gator football games over the years, and addressed the audience at the Gator basketball team’s Midnight Madness event in 1998.

“As a matter of fact,” Flair said, “I’m thinking about buying (Piesanos) and calling it Ric Flair’s Italian Bistro.”

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