A Florida woman says she was accused of shoplifting during a visit to Barnes & Noble, leading to an exchange with store employees. The video, posted by a TikTok creator who goes by Hendrix, shows her speaking with Barnes & Noble employees after she says staff followed her through the store and called for additional employees because they believed she had hidden CDs inside her shopping bag. In the caption, the creator claimed that “lady followed me around the store and called for ‘backup.'” She alleged that one of the managers approached her and said, “we see you slipping cds in your bag.” Hendrix said she immediately opened her bag, adding that it contained “absolutely nothing.” The video itself begins after employees have already gathered near the checkout area. The shopper questions why staff was called over, saying, “She literally just called y’all up here to say I stuck it in my bag.” An employee responds, “No, I didn’t.” Hendrix argues she was unfairly singled out Hendrix continues to insist she had done nothing wrong, saying the employee had watched her while she browsed the music section. “You were watching me the whole time when I was browsing the CD,” she says. “You walked over there, and you accused me of sticking something in my bag.” The employee replies that they only believed they had seen something suspicious. “No, I thought you were,” the employee replies. The shopper rejects that explanation and argues that security footage would back up her version of events. “You can watch the cameras. I never did that,” she says. @jerlieyha lady followed me around the store and called for “backup.” one of the managers came up to me and stated “we see you slipping cds in your bag.” so i opened my bag and what was inside? absolutely nothing. BARNES&NOBLE IN ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLORIDA ♬ original sound – hendrix Throughout the exchange, Barnes & Noble employees tell the customer she is free to continue shopping while explaining they will simply hold the CDs behind the counter until she is ready to purchase them. Hendrix declines, saying the encounter had already made her uncomfortable. Hendrix’s account is not the only one in which a shopper has said they were wrongly suspected of theft. Earlier this year, another customer said Aldi employees escorted her from the store after misreading her receipt. She says the encounter is no longer just about the CDs. Instead, she tells employees that being singled out has left her feeling unfairly treated. “I was still profiled. I do not appreciate that at all,” she says. “I don’t have to steal the CD.” She goes on to argue that she had been browsing for around 20 minutes and says there were several other customers in the same section, including what she describes as “a whole group of teenagers,” yet she believes she was the only shopper who drew employees’ attention. One employee later explains why staff became concerned. “We just look for people with bags,” the employee says. The customer pushes back, responding, “Everybody comes through the mall with a bag. You have to understand how that sounds.” The employee answers, “That’s unfortunately part of it.” Many retailers rely on loss-prevention policies that encourage employees to alert managers when they suspect shoplifting. Those policies can become contentious when customers believe they have been singled out without evidence. Similar complaints have emerged at other retailers, including one in which a shopper said store security accused him of stealing the jacket he had worn into the store. In the comments, many people focused less on the accusation and more on the employees’ explanation for their behavior. Several argued that the reasoning did not match what they believed the footage showed. “‘We’ll hold them’ is very telling,” one commenter wrote. Another added, “what people don’t realize is how humiliating it is to be treated like this.” Some commenters encouraged her to escalate the matter. “don’t apologize to them for their wrong doing. please report them to corporate,” one person wrote. Others questioned whether employees had followed proper loss-prevention procedures. “they gon get fired. you’re not supposed to approach customers even when you suspect they’re stealing,” another commenter claimed. Barnes & Noble has not publicly commented on the incident shown in the TikTok video. The footage does not show employees recovering any merchandise from Hendrix’s bag, and she repeatedly maintains that security cameras would show she never concealed the CDs.