A Texas lawn care business owner recently recorded a tense exchange in which a white customer rejected his services mid-appointment, allegedly because he is Black. The encounter, posted on TikTok by user @heaintthatfunny, shows the moment the homeowner, who had hired him through a third-party app, called the police upon realizing his race. The video quickly went viral, gathering hundreds of thousands of views and sparking conversations about the persistence of racial discrimination in everyday interactions.

As the video begins, the man calmly narrates the situation to his followers, explaining that he and his team had already begun mowing when the customer abruptly changed her mind. “Look how much we’ve cut already,” he says, showing a partially mowed lawn as the woman stands on the street, apparently making a call to the police. During the encounter, the homeowner reportedly referred to him as “boy,” before refusing to let him finish the job.

The recording captures the woman taking a photo of his license plate, saying little else to him as she speaks to authorities on the phone. The business owner, joined by his two sons on the job, expressed frustration over the encounter and the impact of the woman’s reaction. “She didn’t know she was hiring Black people to cut her grass,” he noted. “This is wild behavior in front of my kids.”

When the police arrived, the officer first spoke with the business owner, who explained the situation. The officer then talked to the woman, ultimately apologizing to the landscaper for her behavior. The officer even asked for the man’s business card, expressing interest in his services, a gesture that provided a measure of validation for the business owner as he works to grow his lawn care company.

The viral TikTok video has drawn significant online support, with commenters sharing their outrage and disappointment over the incident. Many expressed admiration for the business owner’s composure, while others condemned the woman’s actions as a “tired old racism” that still pervades society.