A Wisconsin woman shared an experience she had while shopping for the ever-popular squishy cube toys. They were no more than $1 where she made the purchase, so she decided to grab a few. What she didn’t know was that she’d soon be accused of stealing by a store employee.
TikTok user Vee_rjs, Vanesa, had arrived at a Dollar Tree to purchase viral squishy, stress cubes. She grabbed a box of them, counting five, but was suddenly questioned and accused by an employee who said she took a sixth one she knew to be there.
Vanesa immediately responded by telling the worker she didn’t steal one and to check the cameras. The worker asked Vanesa to leave the store but the confrontation continues. Eventually, the worker called the police to deal with it. That’s where Vanesa starts recording the altercation.
At the start of the video, the worker profiles Vanesa as “Mexican” to the police on the phone, along with further description. When Vanesa points that out, the cashier exclaims, “She asked me what you looked like.” Vanesa makes it known she’s willing to wait for police — she did nothing wrong, and that the camera footage would prove it.
When Vanesa tried to speak with another employee who witnessed it, she asked why she was being accused of stealing. One of the people with Vanesa proudly defends himself, stating, “I have a lot of money in my account. “ The employee shrugs and has very little to say.
Viewers express outrage at how Vanesa was treated
People in the comment section of Vanesa’s TikTok video shared their displeasure with the way the employee handled the situation. General consensus is that she was in the wrong for escalating it to the police.
“Calling you Mexican without knowing you? She was definitely profiling you,” argued a commenter, with some pegging the cashier as racist. To this, many insisted Vanesa sue for discrimination.
Few ran to the side of the cashier. “I think she called the police because you’re coming off aggressive babes,” a commenter fired at Vanesa.
In the following thread, one viewer pushed back, saying the reaction by the cashier wasn’t warranted. “I mean over a dollar squishy is crazy to even call the cops for,” they wrote.
Vanesa has not expressed on TikTok whether she’ll be pressing charges. However, the caption of her video does tag the store, followed by her calling for them to “DO BETTER.”
