An Arizona man was arrested after telling YouTube star LILAJDRE in a viral Instagram post that he was in a “no N-word zone” while trying to film a video.
LILAJDRE, whose real name is Andre Abram, shared on Instagram the confrontation he had with a man in Scottsdale, Ariz., as he was preparing to record a video. The Arizona Republic reported reported that the man was later identified as Paul Ng, who is Asian.
The incident began when Ng approached Abram and asked what he was taking pictures of. When Abram asked the man why he wanted to know, Ng said that “we’ve had problems here.”
Abram then asked Ng if he knew a lot of white men were doing racist things, to which Ng responded, “I am a racist,” and that “this is a no N-word zone.”
Abram later turned the camera to himself and said he would continue to record the video, and told Ng to step back and warned that he would “lay your b—- a— down” if he tried to touch him.
Abram then pointed the camera to the River Trading Post, which Ng claimed as his establishment. Ng could be overheard again saying that it was a “no N-word zone.”
River Trading Post later clarified on Instagram that Ng had nothing to do with their business.
“We were merely in the background of this horrible encounter and want all to know that we support diversity, inclusivity, and will do all we can to support the victims of this verbal attack,” the store said.
Abram told the newspaper that while the incident upset him, many African American men face similar situations and don’t have the same ability to share it.
Multiple videos of African Americans being racially profiled have garnered national attention this year following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Earlier this month, Versace Vice President Salehe Bemburry shared a video of an incident where he said he was racially profiled by police in Beverly Hills, Calif., when he was stopped for jaywalking.