A video that’s drawn nearly 700,000 views on TikTok shows a white woman calling security after questioning a Black woman for using a public bathroom in their workplace.
The Black woman, who goes by @top_cat716 on TikTok, posted a video last week of the encounter at a law firm in Buffalo, New York.
She recorded herself stepping out of a communal bathroom with multiple stalls and into a hallway where a white woman appeared to be waiting for her.
“Can I ask who you report to so I can call the law firm?” the white woman asked.
Both women reportedly work on different floors in the building. The Black woman asked why she couldn’t use the bathroom on the floor where the white woman worked.
“Because you need to stay on your floor bathroom,” the white woman answered.
“Why do I have to stay on my floor? Because of what?” @top_cat716 asked.
“Why would you not stay on your floor?” the white woman questioned.
She added that she “particularly” asked @top_cat716 not to use the bathroom on the floor they were on.
“I can use whatever bathroom I want to use. This is the law firm where I work,” @top_cat716 replies.
That’s when the white woman said she would call security but decided to go downstairs and make an in-person report.
“Please contact security. I work here. You sound stupid,” @top_cat716 responds.
People in @top_cat716’s comments mostly encouraged her to continue using the bathroom.
“I would go to the bathroom on that floor every day,” one person said.
“Why is she the bathroom police?” another asked.
Cases like these that show a white person policing a Black person for no legitimate reason are routinely seen on social media and in the news. Many have been dubbed “Karen” cases to call attention to white women who antagonize Black people, accuse them of minor or made-up offenses, and then call the police. One of the most infamous cases that put “Karens” on the map happened in 2018 when a white woman called the police on two Black men for using a charcoal grill at a public park.
