Mitt Romney's lack of social graces led to the release of the tape. (IowaPolitics.com/Flickr)

Appearing on MSNBC’s the Ed Show, Scott Prouty, who was tending bar at the $50,000 per plate affair, said he wrestled with the decision to release the video (through Mother Jones' David Corn), but ultimately felt he would be “a coward” not to.

While the part of the clip that went viral to Romney’s great detriment was when the former governor of Massachusetts branded what he calculated to be the 47 percent of Americans who do not pay taxes as people who refuse to “take personal responsibility and care for their lives,” Prouty said he was most bothered by a segment in which Romney seemed to endorse the practices of a Chinese factory he visited where workers were treated rather harshly.

In an interview earlier Wednesday with the Huffington Post, Prouty acknowledged having met Romney on a previous occasion when working a different event, and was put off by the way the former CEO of Bain Capital treated the help. He contrasted this with an experience he had with former president Bill Clinton, who made a concerted effort to meet the servers and kitchen staff.

As to why he waited until now to come forward, Prouty told Schultz that he wanted “Mitt Romney’s words, and Mitt Romney’s words only” to be the focal point of the controversy.

The “47 percent” video damaged Romney’s campaign at a crucial time in the race, and although he recovered after the first presidential debate, President Obama was easily re-elected with over 300 electoral votes.

Read more of Neon Tommy’s coverage of the “47 percent” tape here.

Reach Executive Producer Matt Pressberg here.