A shoplifter used an influencer filming a video as a shield to escape a store that he had allegedly robbed.
In a video posted over the weekend, a man follows TikToker Remi Bader into a revolving door while she exits the Forever 21 location in Times Square.
The man goes into the same quadrant of the door as Bader, who said on TikTok that he started pushing her and saying “go go go” to get out of the store.
“This man just shoplifted as I was filming,” Bader wrote in the video’s overlay text. “Using me as a shield.”
In the TikTok’s caption, Bader says that she can laugh at the incident, but it was also frightening. On Monday, her video had almost 940,000 views.
@remibader I cannot stop laughing but i’m also sooooo shooooook
♬ original sound – Remi Jo
Shoplifting is a widely discussed topic on TikTok, as users lament about locked items in stores, and some have captured stores being robbed on camera. Former Ulta and Victoria’s Secret employees have also shared how those corporations handle shoplifters and stealing.
As for the alleged shoplifter shown in Bader’s video, she shared in a comment that she was “grossed out” by the interaction because he was so close to her and on her body.
Many commenters on Bader’s video said they found the situation absurd and hilarious, and some noted the man’s quick action.
“He saw his chance and TOOK IT!” a commenter wrote.
“I’m actually in TEARS,” another commenter said. “But I’m so sorry that’s scary!!!”
One commenter said that someone had also used her body as a shield to steal from the same Forever 21 store.
“THIS HAPPENED TO ME IN THE SAME EXACT STORE IN NYC,” they said.
Forever 21 and Bader did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
