A TikTok creator has received a massive boost to his follower count, after being accosted in a store about his makeup tutorial videos.
For context, TikTok user @george_jreige — who shares product reviews and tips for makeup and cosmetics — uploaded a video on the platform in which he can be seen reacting to a passerby’s comments while in a shopping mall. George begins the video by holding a makeup product to the screen, before he is aggressively approached by a fellow shopper, whose voice is heard offscreen.
Among other quips, the unseen woman criticizes George for his videos, which she describes as “a little bit stupid” and “rude.” She goes on to say that George’s TikTok tutorials are “influencing little kids”, like her daughter, “to do something they’re not supposed to be doing,” adding that he should not be doing makeup because he is “a boy.”
The woman says George’s affinity for makeup “goes against God’s word” and makes him “a bad influence,” before declaring that he should delete his page, which boasts over 200,000 followers. Hey, if she’s got a problem with guys in makeup, maybe take it up with JD Vance?
George wastes no time offering his retort, suggesting that the woman’s daughter simply block his profile or delete her TikTok account altogether. “Another day, another attack,” George says to the camera after returning to his car. After that, there’s a knock on his car window — presumably from the woman in the store — who again berates George and describes him as a “f***ing disgrace.”
Legions of TikTok users flocked to the comments on George’s video — which has since been viewed almost 4 million times — to share their support. Many remarked that while they hadn’t heard of George prior, his grace in dealing with the woman prompted them to start following him. “I just followed you George because of that mean woman,” one user wrote in a comment that garnered nearly 40,000 likes.
Others commended George for his “respect and kindness” while responding to the woman, and more broadly reassured him that they would be “proud to have my son watch your videos.” If that’s anything to go by, it’s likely that woman’s aggression had the opposite effect, introducing a swathe of new people to George and boosting his follower count in the process. Better luck next time, nameless shopper.
Of course, it’s far from the only verbal altercation to take off on TikTok, with our collective For You Pages overrun by angry suspicious neighbors, feuding flight attendants and passengers, and a clap-back for the ages courtesy of a soon-to-be bride. And all of that was just in the past month.