Footage of a woman accusing a Black man of her stealing her phone while still having it in her purse at a Spencer's store has gone viral.
The video was posted to TikTok by fuxktdub on Monday and has amassed over 2.1 million views. The altercation has since been re-shared on other social media platforms, such as Twitter and YouTube.
Comments under the TikTok video have argued the woman already saw her phone in her bag but did not want to admit to it on camera. Others have begun debates around race relations and the treatment of Black people in the U.S.
The video starts midway through the altercation with the woman with the misplaced phone speaking with the clerk, while the man accused and a woman he is with record the incident.
The video has the onscreen caption: "Karen really pulled this at a Spencer's. Racism alive and well."
The woman behind the camera asked the store clerk if he could resolve the issue by calling the accusing woman's phone. She added that the woman who could not find her phone would not give them her number to call it.
Before agreeing to do so, the woman with the "lost" phone claims the Black man could have turned off the ringer.
The woman holding the camera then sarcastically asked if she wanted them to get naked to prove they did not have the phone in their possession.
The store clerk asked all parties to try and remain calm as they tried to resolve the problem.
The woman with the lost phone then turned to the Black man and pleaded with him to return her phone. The woman holding the camera demanded the woman with the lost phone talk to the store clerk, who was trying to help her by calling her it.
She then asked if the woman would prefer to pat the Black man down after he has already emptied his pockets.
The store clerk had to remind the woman with the lost phone she still had not given him her number.
The woman with the lost phone tried to explain her reasoning and said the Black man walked right behind her and may have taken it out of her bag at that point.
She then agreed to type her number into the store clerk's phone and call it. It then began ringing, showing that her phone was in her purse the whole time.
She then turned to the Black man and the woman he was with and apologized as the pair started to walk off. The woman behind the camera then swore at the woman and argued the woman was not sorry.
Newsweek has contacted the TikTok poster for comment.
