A Black TikTok influencer who approached a woman she heard saying the N-word in a crafts store in Michigan said she had no qualms about checking her behavior.
“If I see something, I’m gonna say something. That’s how I’ve always been,” content creator AuntKaren told Atlanta Black Star.
AuntKaren said she was shopping at a JOANN’s in Allen Park, Michigan, where she overheard a woman who sounded like she was in a heated argument and was saying the N-word repeatedly.
“Just hearing the tone and inflection of the voice, this didn’t sound like a Black woman,” AuntKaren said.
She said when she turned on one aisle, she saw a white woman on the phone arguing.
That’s when she began recording.
“You’re not Black, so why are you saying n—?” AuntKaren is heard asking the woman on the video.
“Why are you in my business?” the woman asks her.
“I’m just trying to understand why,” AuntKaren states.
“Because I’m fighting with my boyfriend,” the woman says.
“But you’re not Black, so don’t say n—,” AuntKaren tells her.
“Don’t get in my conversation,” the woman responds.
“Yeah but you shouldn’t be so loud so I’m gonna check you on it,” AuntKaren tells the woman as she walks away.
The content creator said the woman left the store after the confrontation.
In a follow-up video, AuntKaren posted a screenshot of a message the woman sent her the day after the confrontation.
“Mind ya business u don’t know what was going on your just a random b— shopping to knit because you’re old and have nothing better to do besides being people’s business so mind your own baby, but thanks for the clout…I really appreciate it,” the message read.
Photos from the woman’s social media accounts also revealed that her boyfriend is white, putting to bed some viewers’ speculation that he could have been Black, which was why the woman felt so comfortable saying the N-word.
“I think that makes it even worse,” AuntKaren remarked.
Both women also ended up going live together on TikTok. During the livestream, the white woman told AuntKaren that she grew up hearing her family members say the N-word casually, so it’s in her vocabulary, but she’s not racist.
“Regardless, there’s no reason you should be saying this,” AuntKaren told Atlanta Black Star. “That’s not your word to say.”
The 20-second clip of the confrontation drew more than 500,000 views and hundreds of comments praising AuntKaren’s reprimand.
“NORMALIZE CHECKING PEOPLE,” one TikTok user commented.
“If you’re yelling around in public, it’s public business. No expectation of privacy here!” someone else wrote.
“Holding people accountable for the things that they do is something I’ve always done,” AuntKaren said.
