A white woman who approached a Black man and his companion while they were fishing at a local lake in the west Georgia city of Columbus has been fired by her employer.
The company issued a statement saying it “stands against discrimination of all forms,” and that the woman’s contract was terminated because she did not “uphold” the inclusive values of the brand.
Identified only as Tanya by her former employers, the woman approached Anthony Gibson and inquired about why he was fishing on the private property where she resided. Unbeknownst to her, Gibson’s father owned a home in the gated community and was fishing under his dad’s authorization, the Daily Mail reported. Gibson identifies calls the area “his neighborhood in the viral video.
According to the bylaws of the community, guests of homeowners are permitted to use the lake.
The woman also did not know that Gibson was an aspiring social media influencer and had documented the exchange between the two and posted it online. In a matter of days, the clip went viral and received 7.5 million views and eventually reached the place where Tanya worked, Sea Glass Therapy.
On the Newnan-based company’s Facebook page, owners posted a statement on Wednesday, July 13 that read, “Sea Glass Therapy is a place of acceptance, healing, and inclusion of all people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or background.”
“We stand against discrimination of all forms. We have terminated our business relationship with the independent contractor, Tanya, in order to uphold our values and standards,” it continued. “We strive to be a service to our community and do whatever we can to accommodate the needs of it, operating with integrity.”
On Friday, July 14, after going viral and Tanya losing her job, Gibson posted another video of himself being harassed. He posted the video of his father talking to a police officer about his son fishing at the lake. As the officer explains that this is private property, he asks Gibson’s father for his identification.
The officer reads it and says, “It’s exactly what he said,” pointing at Gibson.
“Exactly,” the father said. “Find out who keeps calling. I can come out here and fish anytime I want to and my children live here.”
There is no word on who keeps calling the police or neighbors on Gibson.
