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A TikToker said she confronted a man who was sending racist text messages about her on a fight from Puerto Rico to Atlanta.
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In the video, Taila Rouse tells the man she is “disgusted” by his messages.
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Rouse said the man was sending text messages that said airlines should raise their prices to “weed out” Black and gay people.
A TikToker posted a video that appears to show her confronting a man who was sending racist text messages about her while he was sitting next to her on a flight.
In the video posted on Friday, Taila Rouse says that she didn’t want to say anything to the man at first, but she wanted to make him feel as uncomfortable as she felt when she noticed the “disgusting” messages on the screen. Rouse has more than 25,000 followers on her account, where she mainly posts travel tips and hotel reviews.
In the video caption, Rouse said that the altercation happened on a flight from Puerto Rico to Atlanta, Georgia earlier in the week. According to Rouse, she glanced over at the man’s phone and saw the words “big Black woman” in a text message, which made her feel inclined to keep reading the conversation.
“He and his family went on and on about the woes of being stuck next to Black and gay people,” Rouse said. “Then I see this man say he hopes airlines raise prices so these people get weeded out.”
@taila.thecreator Sitting next to a racist on my four hour flight from Puerto Rico to Atlanta this week. Yes I could’ve minded my own business, but why should I let him slide? I happened to glance over and see the words “big black woman” so I continued reading. He and his family went on and on about the woes of being stuck sitting next to Black and gay people. Then I see this man say he hopes airlines continue to raise prices so these people get weeded out. If you’re gonna be bold enough to pull your phone out in the middle seat of an airplane and freely talk disrespectfully about Black people, then I’m going to be bold enough to say something to you. What would you have done? #traveltiktok #racistoftheday #racistencounter #airplanedrama #travelingwhileblack #blacktravelfeed ♬ original sound – Taila • Travel Tips
After telling the man that his text’s made her uncomfortable, the video shows Rouse telling the man that she is not going to repeat what his messages said because everyone in the aisle “doesn’t need to know, but I just want you to know that I know.”
Rouse posted a follow-up video that shows the man’s cellphone that appears to show three outgoing text messages.
“Hopefully the airlines will continue to raise prices and weed out these people. Ryan is sitting next to a huge Black woman,” the messages say in the video.
Rouse also tells the man that if airlines start “weeding people out,” then maybe he would have been able to afford to sit with his family, the first video shows. The man apologizes to Rouse at the end of the video, but Rouse tells him she doesn’t need an apology, and that he’s only sorry because she saw the messages.
“If you’re going to be bold enough to pull your phone out in the middle seat of an airplane and freely talk disrespectfully about Black people, then I’m going to be bold enough to say something to you,” Rouse wrote in the video caption.
Rouse did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment on Saturday.
Read the original article on Insider