A California woman says a shopper accused her of stealing underwear and threatened to call security, so she went back and confronted her on camera

A California woman says another shopper falsely accused her of stealing underwear and told her store security was waiting for her. Instead of letting it go, she brought a supervisor along and went back to confront the woman on camera, according to The Nerd Stash, and she says she believes she was targeted for being transgender.

Shay (@ohhelloshay) shared the encounter in a TikTok video that has drawn hundreds of thousands of views. She says she was browsing women’s underwear when a female customer accused her of “stealing panties,” even though she had not taken anything from the store. Shay claims the woman also asked her, “What’s wrong? Are you too poor to buy underwear?”

The California woman says she showed security her bag, and nothing was inside. She then spoke with a supervisor, who helped her approach the other shopper again. However, the TikToker claims the customer refused to acknowledge any of what she had said once the supervisor was standing there, and that is when she started recording the conversation.

Viewers say the other shopper had no business accusing anyone in the first place

In the video, Shay tells the woman, “You told me security was waiting for me. I showed them my bag. There’s nothing in there.” The woman appears to stare back before trying to respond, and Shay cuts in to say she has filed a complaint against her. The customer sarcastically replies, “Oh good,” as Shay explains she wants to make sure other shoppers are not harassed.

“I’m not ashamed of being hurt by what happened. But, I’m also not going to quietly accept being treated that way,” Shay says. “I deserved to be treated with dignity. And I still do.” The store where the encounter took place has not been named in the video, and the clip does not show the earlier moment when the accusation was first made.

Viewers in the comments were mostly confused about why the woman got involved at all. The most liked comment pointed out that the customer does not even work at the store, yet she still accused Shay of stealing. Another viewer asked whether the woman might be undercover security, while others wondered why she was still allowed to keep shopping after the complaint.

Many praised the TikToker for standing her ground. “Yes period stand up for yourself,” one person wrote, while another said they were glad to see people confronting this kind of behavior. A different commenter suggested the woman was simply jealous, and one more pointed out that shopping costs nothing and neither does minding your own business, as the line drew plenty of agreement.

A few commenters went further, saying that even if they saw someone shoplifting, stepping in would not be their business. Others, however, focused on the woman’s reaction in the clip, with one viewer lamenting that no one seems to get embarrassed anymore. Wrongful theft accusations at stores have stirred up similar anger before, as seen when a Target employee accused a woman of stealing her cart despite her showing a receipt.

Shay says she filed a complaint over the encounter, though it remains unclear whether the store has taken any action regarding the other customer or reviewed what happened that day.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the customer’s side of the story, as this account originates solely from Shay’s TikTok video.