In a viral video on TikTok, a woman calls out a customer at a New Mexico nail salon. The problem? According to her, she had been in line ahead of the other customer and was skipped over, believing the reason may have been because of her race.
Posted by Maika’i (TikTok/bbym666), she decided to confront the alleged racism in action. While she was waiting, a woman went in front of her and asked the worker, “Can I get my nails done first?” Instead of telling her to wait in line, they told her “yes” and took her back to do her nails!
Maika’i confronts the room and asks what their names are but they turn away and hide their faces. Nobody has an answer for her. She shows the payment screen and claims the salon still made her pay for her set even though she’s still waiting for work after all this time. She asks the room, “No one wants to say anything now? After you made me pay?”
Demanding to know why she was mistreated, one of the workers gets up and goes to Maika’i and apologizes. In the background, one of the customers speaks up, defending Maika’i, “Why did you make her pay?” The customer has nothing to say and continues to hide her face. One of the workers says, “It’s not her fault, though.” Maika’i responds, “But she did ask! Why would you ask that?”
Maika’i says the whole situation may have been due to the color of her skin. She asks her audience, “What do you think they would have done had a Black woman walked in asking to be done first?” After the incident, the salon reached out to her. They offered a free service to her and what she calls an unacceptably bad “apology.”
Maika’i’s TikTok video ignites a debate online
With 2 million Likes on TikTok and over 12,000 comments, people on TikTok had a lot to say about Maika’i’s alleged experience. Many made fun of the customer, with an equal number of commenters giving props to Maika’i for standing up for herself.
Among the top comments, one person pushed back against the attitude that people should “just let it go.” They had this to say, “No. Never a day in my life. I’m proud of you for sticking up for yourself.”
One TikTok user chose to share that she’d be “boycotting Asian nail shops…” from here on out. “They do not like us,” she said. This started a thread, with commenters calling her out for being racist, too.
Some commenters were a little more active in their support, sharing that they were going to write reviews. “Lemme go leave a review even though I’m 600 miles away,” one supporter wrote. A few users noted that 2-star reviews can’t be deleted.
