Actor Daniel Stern, best known for playing the bumbling criminal Marv in the Christmas comedy classic Home Alone, recalled in his new memoir taking extreme advantage of former President Donald Trump's offer to pay a massive bar tab.
Stern said this occurred during filming of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. At the time, Trump had only recently acquired New York's Plaza Hotel, where he agreed to let the crew film in exchange for a brief cameo.
Stern wrote:
“Donald ended up doing a cameo, but his real contribution was letting us film there, lending the luster of the Plaza to the movie."
Trump had told the film's producers that he was a fan of Stern's and requested to meet him.
Stern recalled:
“He was not a great conversationalist and kind of a nothing personality, but the meeting paid off brilliantly.”
The actor recounts a memorable night during filming when he and a few crew members were having a drink at the renowned Oak Room in the Plaza. Trump and his then-wife, the late Ivana Trump, entered, "waving to the guests and wanting to have his picture taken."
He said that "Donald spotted us and proclaimed so everyone could hear that he would be picking up the tab at our table" and that the group raised their glasses in appreciation as Trump left, "feeling like the host-with-the-most."
Stern shared that he and his friends continued to drink "until there was no more booze left in that bar" and proceeded to purchase "round after round of drinks for the entire bar." The tab came to “at least seven thousand dollars.”
Wrote Stern:
“We still feel really good about that.”
Who could blame Stern?
No one.
That's hilarious! If someone offered me a free drink, I'd probably go all out too.
— Natalie May (@babenataliemay) May 20, 2024
Wooooo!
— Boviathan🇮🇷🇮🇷🇮🇷🇮🇷🇮🇷🇮🇷🇮🇷🇮🇷 (@Godviathan) May 21, 2024
Bravo to Daniel Stern for getting Trump to actually pay a bill!!!!!!!https://t.co/g9frU0yo2u
— Bulldog Liberal (@Tom005954520472) May 21, 2024
Omg amazing. Sticky fingers strike again! https://t.co/aXuAzoPz2X
— K V E D (@k_ved) May 20, 2024
And at least a couple of people pointed out that Trump, who is known for not paying his bills—legal or otherwise—probably didn't bother paying the bill at all.
I'm sure that tab went unpaid.
— Nietzsche Copernicus (@NietzscheKant2) May 21, 2024
I'm willing to bet Trump stiffed out on the tab!
Donald Trump offered to buy ‘Home Alone’ star Daniel Stern a drink — so the actor ran up a $7K tab #DonaldTrump #Trumpwifehttps://t.co/f2VulYjZOC
— O'Callaghan (@OCallaghan1313) May 21, 2024
Bar bill? I thought you said "Bill Barr."https://t.co/EaFG6N8NkQ
— Mark Dundas Wood (@MarkDundasWood) May 21, 2024
Well, a few conservatives were angry about the whole thing.
All these celebrities who appeared on Trump’s tv shows or kissed up to him for years, now have to engage in revisionist history to excuse their obsequious behavior toward ‘Bad Orange Man” #DanielStern
— Megiddo (@Megiddo04079256) May 21, 2024
and Trump is a multibillionaire and Stern is a washed up has been. All worked out well.
— Jimmy New York (@JimmyNY88) May 20, 2024
This isn’t the W you think it is, @RealDanielStern - you’re basically bragging about being a jerk…and a fool, as $7k is pocket change to Trump. Way to embarrass yourself 👏🏻.
— Rushker Carlbaugh 🎙🇺🇸🎙 (@Prov29_25) May 20, 2024
Guess he thinks that makes him a man? More like a typical WOKE Moocher.😡
‘Home Alone’ Star Daniel Stern Feels ‘Really Good’ About Running Up $7,000 Bar Tab After Trump Offered to Pay #DonaldTrump #Trumpwifehttps://t.co/YsQBARwuhQ
— Bruce F 🚀 (@BruceF852682) May 22, 2024
Trump appeared in Home Alone 2 for just a few seconds, helping the protagonist Kevin McCallister find his way to the Plaza Hotel's front desk.
According to the film's director Chris Columbus, Trump was rather aggressive and demanded to have a cameo in the film. The film's crew initially assumed they would simply pay Trump a standard fee for shooting at his location, as is typically the norm. However, Trump wanted additional compensation.
Columbus said they paid the fee to film in the hotel's lobby but that Trump essentially "bullied his way into the movie."