A Black man says that Forever 21 employees called the police on him and the people with him for recording video in the store. Footage shows his interaction with employees.
In a TikTok posted on Wednesday, a Forever 21 employee tells Jonathan Davis (@therealjonthedon) that if he’s “not gonna buy anything and [he’s] recording will [he] please leave the store.” Davis is holding a Forever 21 item.
“Actually I’m about to buy something and relax,” Davis says to the employee. “If we made anybody feel uncomfortable [by recording in the store], they did not let us know that.”
The camera pans to show a police officer who says that the employees “don’t want [Davis] in the store.”
Davis then speaks to a Forever 21 employee and tells her that he’s recording himself because he “makes TikToks and [has] a social media platform.” She tells him that recording isn’t allowed in Forever 21 locations, and Davis asks if that policy was posted anywhere visible in the store.
The Daily Dot was not able to verify whether or not Forever 21 prohibits recording in store and has reached out to Forever 21 via email.
“Will you lower your voice please? I’m not yelling at you,” the employee tells Davis, who tells her he’s not yelling at anybody. The employee then says Davis was “coming at” her.
“No ma’am. That’s why we don’t stop the cameras,” Davis says, pointing to the camera still recording him.
As Davis leaves the store, he shows that another police officer and police dog are waiting outside.
“I can’t believe this happened to me,” Davis wrote in the video’s caption. “Forever 21 we gotta do better.”
On Thursday, Davis’s video had almost 1.5 million views.
@therealjonthedon I can’t believe this happened to me 🤦🏾♂️ @FOREVER 21 ♬ original sound – JonTheDon
Commenters on Davis’s video encouraged him to file claims against the employees and the store and get in contact with Forever 21’s corporate office. Others supported Davis’s handling of the situation.
“DISCRIMINATION AT ITS FINEST,” @kennaba8y01 commented. “HE WAS SO RESPECTFUL.”
“The fact you remained calm after these false claims,” @ceeigie wrote. “The fact they tired to gaslight you.”
“I wouldn’t have bought anything from anyone treating me that way,” @cherrio3699 commented. “Y’all handled it well.”
In an Instagram post, Davis confirmed that he didn’t end up purchasing the item he was holding in the viral video.
