‘What do you think they would have done had a Black woman walked in?’: Woman alleges racism after a New Mexico nail salon skipped her in line

A woman identified as bbym (@bbym666) recently posted a video on TikTok about what she describes as a troubling experience at a New Mexico nail salon, where she claims she was skipped in line. She has alleged that the treatment may have been based on her race.

According to her video, the incident took place at NT Luxury Spa and Nails near Coors and Sequoia. In her video, bbym said she was waiting for service when another customer approached a worker and asked, “Can I get my nails done first?”

As found by The Nerd Stash, she claimed that despite having been waiting in line, the staff agreed to the other customer’s request and took her back to begin her service right away. She said she then decided to confront those involved, and when she asked for their names, the workers and the other customer apparently turned away and hid their faces with their hands, as shown in the video.

The dispute grew after bbym said the salon had already taken her payment

In her account, the situation grew tense when bbym pointed out that the salon had allegedly already taken her payment for the service she was still waiting to receive. She asked the room, “No one wants to say anything now? After you made me pay?” 

The video shows that one worker eventually came over and appeared to apologize, while the customer who had reportedly cut the line remained silent. Another customer in the shop appeared to speak up in bbym’s defense, questioning why the staff had required payment before providing the service. Salon disputes over upfront payment can escalate quickly, as seen when a New Jersey woman sought a refund over a service she was unhappy with. 

Bbym appeared to question the motives of the staff. In a follow-up video’s caption, she asked her audience, “What do you think they would have done had a Black woman walked in asking to be done first?” She said that after the incident, the salon reached out to her, but that she found the attempt to make things right unsatisfactory. She described their follow-up as an unacceptably bad “apology” paired with an offer for a free service.

The video has gained a lot of attention on TikTok, reaching 22.7 million views and more than 13,400 comments. Many viewers appeared to praise bbym for standing her ground. One commenter wrote, “good for you standing up for yourself Queen.”

Reactions in the comments appeared to be largely supportive. “You were polite, brave and clear,” wrote one commenter. Another said, “I can feel your heart rate through this. I am SO sorry this happened.” 

One commenter wrote that they were “heading over to leave a review” despite living 700 miles away. Online disputes over salon service have apparently escalated before, including one case where a woman faced a lawsuit threat after a California salon damaged her hair. As of this writing, the salon has not publicly shared its account of events, and all claims in this story are drawn from bbym’s video.