A video circulating on social media shows a racially charged confrontation between a white Chick-fil-A employee and a Black woman at the entrance gate to a Georgia apartment complex, where the two strangers argued before the man allegedly struck the woman, leading to them both calling the police on each other.
The viral footage, posted to TikTok in mid-April by user @bigsonjye of Stockbridge, Georgia, begins with the dustup already in progress.
It’s not entirely clear what triggered the incident, but one commenter on the post claimed the woman had tried to follow the other vehicle through the entry gate instead of waiting for it to reset and use her own key card to enter the grounds.
The same commenter also noted the unidentified man “could have handled it differently for sure.”
In the video, the woman claims the occupants of the other car attempted to block her from entering the complex, leading to both individuals exiting their vehicles and making a scene at the entrance as other cars were waiting to pass.
A caption with the video declares, “I cant stand georgia *before yall get in these comments actin a fool, yes we have a gate card. And now he has charges,” although local police have not confirmed the official version of events, and the man involved has not yet come forward with his side of the story.
It’s unclear if the man was cited or arrested following the episode.
The video begins with the man shown standing inches from the woman while dressed for work in Chick-fil-A’s short-sleeve red chef’s coat, matte gray slacks, and slip-resistant kitchen clogs.
The man, who social media users noted bears a striking resemblance to actor Emilio Estevez, is seen pacing around, breathless and agitated, on his cellphone with 911, while the woman stood across from him, fussing that he had just called her a “c-nt” — though that part of the argument was not filmed.
“I don’t know who the hell you are,” the woman tells him before the footage shows the man abruptly approaching and smacking away the phone, nearly knocking the phone out of her hand.
The man can be heard growling, “… that f—king sh-t,” as he swung on the woman.
She remained composed and did nothing to retaliate, continuing to film while calmly informing the man that he had just let his emotions get the best of him.
“And you’re trying to assault me, and you’re trying to snatch my phone, so when [the police] come, I’ll be sure to let them know,” she said before accusing the man of trying to “stop me from coming into an apartment complex that I live at, that I have a lease to.”
Next, the woman starts putting the man on blast, saying he works at the Chick-fil-A Dwarf House in Stockbridge — the uniform he wore also featured the chain’s motto “make it good” above the breast pocket — but the wholesome values of his workplace didn’t seem to apply as he cussed and talked loudly over the woman and walked away instead of owning up and apologizing.
Suddenly, the man turned back toward her, tilted his head to the side, and asked, “Sweetie, do you feel good about yourself?”
The man then rolled his eyes, saying, “Look at this trash,” in reference to her, and walked off again as the woman continued to rant over his disrespect.
The man’s SUV was blocking the way the entire time he argued with the woman while the driver smirked and waved to the camera.
“This is his husband, his partner,” the woman said while filming the other man through his rolled-up window.
In the background, the other man can then be heard telling the 911 dispatcher the address of the complex, saying, “I need someone here.”
At the same time, the woman can be heard explaining the situation to another emergency dispatcher, saying, “They tried to stop me. This person tried to stop me … They just tried to cut me off. He just tried to grab my phone. He’s over here trying to come near my car and harass my son; my son’s in the back seat right now,” she said, adding, “We just got home from school.”
At one point, a groundskeeper drives through the middle of the argument on a golf cart, but he doesn’t appear alarmed, nor does he say anything or try to intervene.
Moments earlier, the groundskeeper can be seen halting another vehicle exiting the complex, but it’s not clear if he did so with awareness of the escalating situation yards away.
The woman ended up parking her car on the curb facing the main road. A few paces behind was the other vehicle, sitting in the middle of the exit lane and blocking traffic.
The man remained on the phone, telling the dispatcher, “She’s causing a scene; she’s still here with me right now.” He paced nervously back and forth and gave the dispatcher the name of the complex.
In the background, the woman can be heard describing the man.
“Yeah, he’s a white male. White male about 5-7, 5-8,” she said, prompting the blond-haired man to circle back again, presumably to eavesdrop on the conversation.
The woman then tells the operator, “These people just stopped me. I don’t even know if they live here, I don’t know who they are,” which sets the man off.
“Sweetie, we have a car to get in!” he yelled loudly, walking up to the woman again.
Briefly, the argument took a somewhat comical turn as the two strangers began talking over each other, repeating the term “sweetie” back and forth several times before they both exploded on each other.
“Sweetie, I’m actually here with one car,” the man fumed, pointing his finger at her with his free hand. “If you’re supposed to be here, you can get in!”
“Guess what!” the woman clapped back, matching his level of outrage. “I got a lease. And when you figure that out, what are you going to solve?” she asked pointedly. “What are you going to solve?”
The man did not respond. He looked away and pretended not to hear her, turning his attention back to the dispatcher but toning it down and speaking under his breath.
By this time, the woman had launched into a tirade against the man, perhaps rightfully so.
“When you figure out that I live here. When you find out I live here, what is it going to solve for you?” she said.
The video ends with the man telling the operator, “I don’t know, I don’t know who she is.”
TikTok users couldn’t help themselves, saying the man was a dead-ringer for Estevez, the brash ’80s- and ’90s-era actor best remembered for his roles in classic films such as “The Breakfast Club” and “Young Guns.”
“Why is Emilio Estevez causing drama?” someone asked with the “crying laughing” emoji.
Many people praised the woman’s patience and composure in the face of being confronted.
“Your ability to remain calm, cool and collected is phenomenal. That would have ended once the reach happened. He threw hands first, I’d follow up,” one user wrote.
Another commenter called out “All the racist white people in the comments,” who blamed the woman for the incident, “Even tho in the first 5 seconds he assaults her,” he said. “I don’t like people like this, y’all!!”
