A shocking TikTok video has gone viral after a Black shopper in the UK claimed she was racially profiled by a Bershka store worker who accused her of stealing, even after seeing proof she had paid. The clip, posted by @nelzgarden, shows the ugly confrontation that happened after she and a friend bought clothing items. On-screen text read, “I’ve never experienced racial profile like this before. This is after she’s searched our bags and seen receipts that’s we’ve PAID!!”
The footage shows the store employee following the women, raising her voice, and repeatedly telling them, “You’re free to go.” But the shoppers weren’t having it. “Well, now I’m free to go. I’ll do what I want, you idiot,” one of them shot back, reports Atlanta Black Star.
A white store employee accused a Black shopper of stealing—even after being shown proof—and the whole ridiculous scene was caught on video.https://t.co/pjahyIt778
— Atlanta Black Star (@ATLBlackStar) September 13, 2025
The TikToker accused the worker of switching her behavior as soon as the camera came out. “The way she’s changed her demeanor – It’s rage bait, and then she wants to do this when I get the camera out,” she said. The falsely accused woman’s friend said, “It’s madness, isn’t it? And now you’ve just called her on it and she’s running away.” Moments later, the worker turned her back and walked away while the shoppers finally exited the store.
The video has racked up nearly 500,000 views and sparked outrage online. Hundreds of commenters slammed the store employee for humiliating the customer in public.
“Urgh… shop assistant raising her voice, ensuring all other shoppers get a good earful of her dressing down this lady and actually making the shopper look like a thief in front of others… once she’d inspected the receipts she should have apologized for any inconvenience this may have caused and returned to whatever she was doing,” one person wrote.
Another TikToker, who said they’d worked in retail management, added, “Listen I’ve worked in retail before as a manager and honestly I don’t why staff react like this, we don’t get paid enough to be arguing with customers!”
The incident is just the latest in a growing string of viral racism cases where Black shoppers say they’ve been unfairly targeted. Last September, a young Black woman broke down in tears on TikTok after being followed around a TJ Maxx in Wisconsin while purse shopping with her boyfriend. That same month, a Black man posted footage of his encounter at a Ross store, where a loss prevention officer falsely accused him of stealing shoes, threatened to call police, then backtracked.
For many online, this Bershka altercation felt all too familiar as another case of bias and racism where the abuser got away with an unacceptable behavior.
