In a viral video, a Black TikToker filmed a white Walmart worker allegedly following him and his child around the store as they tried to shop.
Devon Barzey (@poodabarzey) posted the incident to his account two days ago, where it received 1.1 million views as of Monday.
The video starts with Devon pointing the camera over his shoulder towards two men standing behind him as they all go down an escalator.
“Look at this clown right here following me,” Devon says. In the caption, the shopper adds, “My child had to witness being followed.”
“I’m leaving, why are you still following me?” Devon asks at one point, to which one of the men says something intelligible. It seems, from their conversation, that the men are two “undercover” Walmart employees who are following Devon because they allegedly believe he’s stealing.
“I’m just getting this and I’m out. I don’t need all y’all to surround me,” Devon says.
The video promoted a discussion about racial profiling in the comments section.
“They’re undercover shoplifting prevention following him because he has a backpack on. Could also be because he’s black. But also backpack,” read one comment, attempting to explain.
“This in California, you know you can sue for that. This Walmart by me got sued by a Hispanic guy for racial profiling & stalking then won,” wrote another viewer.
“Body wash is locked up at our Walmart and taken up front when you ready to purchase,” said a third, referring to a commonly contested practice at the store.
@poodabarzey My Child had to witness being followed #fyp #sandiego #walmart ♬ original sound – PoodaBarzey
This video is the third in a series that Devon posted about the incident. In the first post, he is walking through the aisles of the store as one of the men stays close behind. The Walmart worker keeps his distance from the shopper and looks in other directions, but it is clear that he is following Devon. This video garnered 68,900 views.
In the second video, which received 329,000 views, the camera catches two workers following Devon and his child.
“I just needed to get some body wash, and these men are just following me,” he says as he shows the bottles of soap he’s carrying.
But several viewers in the comments of the first two videos wondered what had happened before Devon started filming, and they asked the TikToker for more context.
“What happened before that though? bro not telling the whole story,” wrote one skeptical viewer.
“You know [you’re] only telling some of the story to make yourself look like a victim,” said another.
The Daily Dot reached out to Devon via Instagram direct message for further information.
