A Black woman has recorded the moment she confronted a fellow plane passenger who she says sent "racist text messages" about her during a flight.
Taila Rouse - who goes by the handle @taila.thecreator - detailed the incident that unfolded during a four-hour Delta Airlines flight from Puerto Rico to Atlanta this week on TikTok.
"POV: You decided to confront the racist sitting next to you on your flight," the overlay text on one of her viral TikTok reads.
The clip shows the content creator speaking to the unidentified passenger, saying: "You know what? I wasn't going to say anything... but I decided I want you to feel as uncomfortable as I do, and I want you to know that I saw your text messages and I think you're disgusting."
Watch Talia's TikTok below:The other passenger then asked her what text message she was talking about, and she responded: "You know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not gonna repeat it cause everybody doesn't need to know, but I want you to know that I know I saw you and I think you're disgusting. You don't have anything to say to that right?"
The passenger is then heard saying, "I'm sorry," but Taila wasn't having any of it as she clapped back: "You don't have to be sorry to me, you're sorry because I saw it."
As of this writing, the video amassed 15.6 million views and 3.1 million likes, with many users flooding the comment section with praise for her resilience in confronting the man.
One person wrote: "I’m proud of you and don’t even know you. I know the back and forth with yourself on this was hard and you did that!!"
Another user applauded: "Call Them Out Every Time," while a third commented: "I’m so sorry this happened. I’m also so proud of you for speaking up."
A fourth person shared: "Girl bravo! You are so damn brave. I would have probably cried but you handled this beautifully."
Before confronting the passenger, the TikToker shared a video, revealing that she was "literally going back and forth" with herself to decide if she was going to say something to the passenger, adding that she was "fuming" and her blood was "boiling".
Talia also posted another clip of the passenger's texts visible on the phone screen. One of the messages showed him complaining about a member of his traveling party having to sit "next to a huge Black woman".
She also alleged in the caption that she called him out after reading "more than one racist/homophobic remark".
The content creator spoke to Daily Mail about the incident, explaining that at first, she had "no intention of speaking up" until she observed the flier "engaging in numerous instances of racism and homophobia, sharing their disdain for the people seated around them," which made her feel "increasingly uneasy".
"I wanted him to know that his actions were shameful and that whether he wanted to acknowledge it or not, he was seated next to a human being," she added.
