A white woman who harassed a Black man as he was fishing in his neighborhood has been fired from her job.
Tanya Petty, who was identified by a YouTube user after she was seen in a viral video, approached the Georgia man at the neighborhood lake and asked if he is a resident of the neighborhood.
The fisherman, who was also accompanied by another woman while fishing, recorded his nosy neighbor on video as she told them that the lake “is presently for residents only.”
“I’m in my neighborhood and a white person came and bothered me while I’m fishing,” the Black man said in the video he posted to TikTok. He also said this is the third time that a white person has questioned him in the neighborhood.
“Black man fishing problem,” the TikTok user captioned his video, which has been viewed more than three million times.
As the Georgia man continued to capture the incident on his phone, Petty said she “didn’t give him permission to film.” But the fisherman educated her about the law, telling her that he has the right to film.
“This is my phone, I can film and do whatever I want,” he said. “I studied the law.”
The Georgia resident had a few more questions for Petty as she walked away feeling defeated.
“Don’t leave now,” he said. “Do you live here? Where do you live? What’s your address?”
The agitated white woman turned back at that point and deflected the questions back to him.
“Where do you live?” she said repeatedly, causing the fisherman to chuckle some more. Before Petty once again walked away hopelessly, The Georgia man made it clear that she will hear from him again.
“What’s your name, by the way? Because at the next meeting, I’m definitely going to mention you,” he said.
“Her name is Karen,” the other woman at the lake jokingly added.
@fishingbay2ga I Get harassed when i Go fishing because these privileged people don’t think i live in this nice neighborhood! #racistneighborhood #fishinggonewrong #ijustwanttofish #oldladyharrassingme #iliveinthisneighborhood ♬ original sound – fishingbay2ga
According to Newsweek, Petty is identified as a massage therapist, who worked as an independent contractor at Sea Glass Therapy, a Georgia company that offers counseling and personal therapy. The company announced that the woman has been fired after the viral incident.
“Sea Glass Therapy is a place of acceptance, healing, and inclusion of all people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or background,” the company wrote in a statement on Facebook. “We stand against discrimination of all forms. We have terminated our business relationship with the independent contractor, Tanya, in order to uphold our values and standards. We strive to be a service to our community and do whatever we can to accommodate the needs of it, operating with integrity.”
