About

All My Haters Become Waiters At The Table Of Success is an aphorism often used by New York City Mayor Eric Adams intended to mean that one's doubters will ultimately be left behind when one succeeds in life. The phrase has been widely parodied and used to mock Adams, particularly in the lead-up to Adams being indicted in September of 2024.

Origin

Eric Adams began using variations on the phrase "Let your haters become waiters at the table of success" around 2015, according to a deleted Gawker article.^[1] It was covered in a 2021 New York Times article about Adams,^[2] as the publication wrote he had been using the phrase in his stump speeches. The phrase began seeing mockery on social media beginning on May 16th, 2022, when Adams used it while addressing protestors at a Pace University commencement speech (video by The Recount shown below).

Spread

In June of 2022, the phrase began attracting controversy, as critics voiced that it was disrespectful to service workers.^[1] On August 3rd, 2023, a Redditor in /r/NYStateOfMind^[3] posted a video of Adams using the phrase in a speech, gaining over 330 points in one year.

In 2024, the Adams administration was subject to corruption scandals in which the Federal government indicted many officials, and on September 25th, 2024, Adams himself was indicted. Around this time, social media users began using the "Haters become waiters" line to mock Adams. Blog HellgateNYC^[4] crafted an explainer for the various people indicted or implicated in scandal in Adams' administration and jokingly called the feature Adams' "Table of Success."

On September 23rd, reporter Ken Klippenstein^[5] joked about the increased controversy surrounding the administration by joking, "turn your haters into waiters at the prison commissary table of success," gaining over 410 likes in three days.

The phrase was widely used to joke about Adams' indictment. For example, on September 25th, 2024, user @pattymo^[6] joked, "Adding the DOJ to the list of haters that will become waiters when Eric Adams is once again seated at the table of success," gaining over 200 retweets and 2,900 likes in one day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References