‘What are you doing?’: Michigan influencer says he had permission to film in the store, but a customer threatened to sue him regardless

A grocery store confrontation between a Michigan-based content creator, Frankie LaPenna, and a customer has drawn attention online after the creator shared footage of the tense exchange on TikTok. The video was posted with the on-screen text “Grocery store Karen attack.”

LaPenna, dressed in a suit covered with multiple cameras, including one mounted on his helmet, was filming inside the store when a woman pushing a shopping cart approached him near a display of Crunchmaster products. She pointed at him and immediately said, “I will sue the s–t out of you.”

LaPenna, who was holding a small shopping basket, responded by asking, “what are you doing?” He then explained, “I’m filming a social media and video thing.”

Woman says she did not want to be filmed inside the store

The woman told him, “Okay, I don’t want to be filmed.” The man replied by telling her she did not have to be on camera if she kept walking. He said, “You don’t have to, like, walk away. You don’t have to be on camera if you just keep walking.”

She responded, “This is a public grocery store and I don’t – ” before he cut in and said, “I got permission from the manager to film this, so just keep walking. What are you – why are you – ” Threats of legal action over public filming have come up in other retail encounters, including a dispute at a Jersey Mike’s over a discount request.

The woman then became more agitated and pointed at him again, saying, “Listen you little a–hole.” She repeated her objection, stating, “This is a public place and I don’t appreciate – ” LaPenna responded by telling her, “Keep walking! I can’t stop recording, there’s like 40 cameras on me.”

She continued speaking, saying, “I don’t want to be in any of your social media. If I see anything posted with my picture – ” She then leaned closer to him, which led him to say, “Get – don’t come in my face.” She repeated her earlier statement, saying, “I will sue the s–t out of you.” He replied, “Holy s–t, you’re nuts.” The woman then turned and walked away with her shopping cart.

The exchange took place inside a public grocery store. LaPenna stated during the video that he had received permission from the store manager to film there. The woman did not confirm or dispute this claim on camera. Other creators have also faced backlash for their reactions to unplanned incidents inside stores, such as an influencer’s response after a woman fell in a store.

Throughout the interaction, the woman repeated her threat to sue the man twice, using the same phrase both times. She also expressed concern about being included in his social media content without her consent, saying she did not want her picture posted.

LaPenna maintained during the exchange that he could not stop recording because of the number of cameras attached to his suit. He told her, “I can’t stop recording, there’s like 40 cameras on me.”

The video ends with the woman walking away from the man and continuing to push her shopping cart through the store.

Much of the online reaction zeroed in on the woman’s repeated claim that the store was a “public” place. Commenter TheMrsandman1 mocked that framing with a blunt “keyword ‘public’ .”

That comment sparked a more substantive back-and-forth in the replies. User emnaq3 corrected the record on the legal distinction, pointing out that a grocery store is private property, not public property, meaning the store’s own policy, not some blanket public right, governs whether filming is allowed, and noting that LaPenna’s claim of manager permission put him in the clear either way. 

Commenter Bob added a related but distinct point: even though the store is technically private, it’s a business open to the public, so people inside it generally shouldn’t expect much privacy regardless of who owns the property.

Other commenters focused less on the legal argument and more on the absurdity of the situation. variety_pack_26bags shared a photo of LaPenna’s elaborate camera rig – cameras mounted on his helmet, shoulders, and chest – with the sarcastic caption “how do you know I’m filming?”, highlighting how obvious his filming setup was and implying the woman’s surprise (or objection) rang a little hollow given how conspicuous he looked.

A lighter, more mocking tone showed up elsewhere too. Niki responded to the woman’s line “I don’t want to be filmed” with a three-panel comic of a cyclist crashing – a joke suggesting that, like the cyclist, she was headed for an online moment whether she wanted one or not. 

Many viewers treated the confrontation less as a serious privacy dispute and more as internet comedy, siding with LaPenna’s “I got permission” defense and finding humor in the woman’s escalating reaction.