A trip to a Victoria's Secret store in Oxford005 Archives Alabama ended in tears after a black woman says she was asked to leave simply because of her race.
Kimberly Houzah was left confused and distraught on Wednesday when a manager of Victoria's Secret in the Quintard Mall reportedly asked her and another black woman to exit the store after a woman of color was caught shoplifting.
In the midst of processing situation, Houzah decided to live stream her experience on Facebook to share her feelings with her followers.
SEE ALSO: Woman groped on plane seeks advice on TwitterIn the video, which has been viewed more than 860,000 times this week, Houzah speaks from inside the store, saying that Faith, the manager shown behind her, asked her to leave after another black female was caught stealing.
On the verge of tears, Houzah described that she felt "completely furious" because the woman would not tell her the reasoning behind the abrupt and unforeseen request. The video shows members of the mall security team present in the store, and the manager can be heard in the background saying, "I'm going to need y'all to go, that's all I'm saying."
Though she admitted the manager never asked to check her bags or directly accused her of stealing, Houzah said she felt the incident was a classic case of racial profiling. "Because another black female gets caught stealing, me and the other black female here, we have to be affiliated. So we're all put out." she said.
After leaving the store, Houzah broke down in tears on the way to her car. "We didn't even come in the store together," she said in regards to the woman of color caught shoplifting. "I will never ever step a foot back in that store."
Houzah said that she wouldn't have been so offended if the manager handled the situation differently. As a frequent Victoria's Secret shopper, she said she was appalled at the manager's ignorance. "This makes me want to cut up my Victoria's Secret card and never step foot in a store again."
Houzah's followers began lending their support in the comment section of her live video, expressing their sympathy, sadness and outrage toward the company.
Many stood in solidarity, vowing to also boycott the store and call the company's corporate headquarters to file a formal complaint.
After learning about the incident, Victoria's Secret released a statement on Thursday announcing the company is taking the matter very seriously. It says the company has since reached out to Houzah to offer its apologies and has fired the employee involved.
The full statement is as follows:
"We take the experience of our customer at the Quintard Mall very seriously and have reached out to her directly to express our sincere apology. What happened at our store should not have happened and does not represent who we are or what we stand for. The store associate involved in this matter is no longer employed with the company. Victoria’s Secret is adamant that all customers regardless of race be treated with dignity and respect at all times."
This is not the first time Victoria's Secret has been associated with matters pertaining to racism, as Cosmopolitanrecently called the company out for cultural appropriation at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
Mashable reached out to Houzah and Victoria's Secret for additional comment.
Topics Facebook Social Media Racial Justice
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