A Black woman claimed that an employee of Marco’s Pizza pulled a gun on her after she attempted to get a refund from the store.
In a video with over 206,000 views, TikTok user Ky (@otayee.ky_) shows a man, whom she claims works for the company, outside.
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re up here for, but this is completely unacceptable. I told you what the fuck to do. I feel afraid for my life; get back in your car, now!” the man shouts.
“What?” Ky responds, apparently confused.
“This is how robberies happen,” the man answers.
“This is not a robbery! I’m just asking, can I get my refund?” Ky says.
@otayee.ky_ Is this even legal ? Lmk if yall want a storytime !!! #fyp #foryoupage #pizza #greenscreen #wings #storytime #viral #viralvideo ♬ original sound – Ky 🤸🏾♀️🖤
Ky later posted a video of the complete interaction, which includes her approaching the man for the first time, the interaction happening, then her returning to her car and beginning to drive away.
After numerous users questioned what happened, Ky posted two videos detailing the backstory.
@otayee.ky_ Replying to @lordbeodo full video posted on my page !!!! #fypシ #viral #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Ky 🤸🏾♀️🖤
@otayee.ky_ Replying to @ruffinjokes504 STORYTIME ‼️‼️ #viralvideo #fypシ #fyp #foryoupage #viral ♬ original sound – Ky 🤸🏾♀️🖤
According to Ky, she ordered wings for pickup from a Marco’s Pizza location.
After arriving home, she says she realized that the wings were both soggy and undercooked. She says she decided to call the store in search of a refund or a way to exchange her order for something else, and the store refused.
As the man was allegedly “rude” on the phone, Ky says she decided to simply return to the store and sort out the issue in person. The original video, she says, began when she arrived at the store.
While some users say she should have called the police, Ky later posted another video saying that the man himself called the police to report a “robbery.”
“He ended up calling the police and reporting it as a armed robbery when clearly it wasnt,” she wrote in the caption. “When the police arrive there was nothing done about this situation.”
@otayee.ky_ Replying to @user9228010931931 He ended up calling the police and reporting it as a armed robbery when clearly it wasnt having multiple police surroud my car and when the police arrive there was nothing done about this situation #viralvideo #fypシ #fyp ♬ original sound – Ky 🤸🏾♀️🖤
In the comments section, many users made reference to the man’s use of the phrase “I feel afraid for my life.”
“Soon as I heard that ‘I feel afraid for my life’ I would’ve been like you got it boss,” wrote one user.
“‘I feel afraid for my life’ with a pizza box,” noted another.
“No way he felt afraid for his life,” stated a third.
Per McCready Law Group, “According to California law, if you reasonably believe that a threat exists—you’re about to be physically harmed or facing possible danger—you may act in self-defense.”
“In order to successfully argue self-defense in California, the defendant must prove that: They reasonably believed that they or another person was in imminent danger of being harmed, killed, or suffering great bodily injury; They reasonably believed that the imminent use of force was necessary to defend against that danger; They only used the right amount of force that was reasonably necessary to defend against the harm; The other party was the initial aggressor,” the site continues.
Incidents in which Black people are falsely reported as being dangerous, however, are startlingly common. In 2020, a woman named Amy Cooper lied to police and claimed that a Black man in Central Park attempted to assault her; the man was actually birdwatching.
Later that year, a white woman speculated a Black cyclist in Chicago wanted to kill her before she was filmed going after him, and, in May 2021, a woman in Central Park accused two Black women of threatening to kill her after they requested she return their phone charger, which they had dropped during a bike ride.
Incidents like these—and the fact that Black men are often perceived as larger and more threatening than white men of the same size—may help explain why, despite making up only 14.2% of the American population, “African Americans make up 49% of wrongful convictions since 1989,” per ABC.
Back on TikTok, users supported Ky.
“There’s not anything anyone can say that justified him pulling out a weapon. like she could have lost her life,” shared a commenter. “He needs his gun taken.”
Update 6:55am CT, Nov. 9: In an email to Daily Dot, Marco’s Pizza Chief of Operations Tim Brown shared the following: “The order of wings discussed in the video was placed on Oct. 2 and Marco’s initiated a credit refund on her credit card when the customer called into the store expressing her displeasure with the order. The customer wanted to be refunded in cash and was told the refund could only be made to the credit card which item was purchased from. Later that evening of Oct. 2, when the shift lead was closing up the store and leaving for the night, he encountered a vehicle driving aggressively in the parking lot and in fear, he immediately called 911. He did not know that the person driving the vehicle was the daughter of the customer…When the police arrived, the shift lead explained that this was a misunderstanding and that he thought the vehicle was attempting to rob him and did not know the driver of the vehicle was a customer. The police determined there was no gun present at the scene and neither party decided to press charges, so no police report was filed. The next day, Oct. 3, the store owner called the mother and apologized for the misunderstanding. He invited the daughter and mother into the store for a complimentary meal. Both parties considered the matter resolved.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Ky via TikTok commen.
