A New York woman noticed a man following her while she was heading to work. She then told her audience how that’s the “reality” of living, implying it was a regular occurrence.
In a video with over 2.2 million views, Taylor (@ttayyyylorr) explained how she noticed the man—wearing a gray jacket and black pants—pacing with her while she made her way across the street. Despite pausing, double-crossing the street, and trying to move away from him, the man persisted.
“This is the reality of being a woman. I completely stopped [on]the side of the street so this guy would stop following me, and now he’s up here waiting for me,” she said.
He continues keeping up with her
“Here he is right there on my right. Now he’s walking right behind me after I completely stopped on the side of the road to let him pass,” she added. “So now I’m gonna do it again. I am now crossing. I’m gonna see if he comes behind me again.”
She stopped on the road and waited to see if the man would follow her. In her video, he looks directly into the camera while pacing back to where she is, clearly following her.
In her description, she added, “I ended up double crossing the street and he followed me there and back both times until I got to my destination… He waited outside [my office] building for [five] minutes (according to the man behind the desk).”
‘Tippy-toe walking’
Many commenters noticed the man’s unusual demeanor—he “tippy-toe walked,” or walked on the tips of his toes while following her across the city. The “tippy-toe” walking appeared strange, unusual, and almost frightening in combination with the man following Taylor around.
Other commenters noticed that his demeanor wasn’t usual or stable.
“What was that random side step to [the] left he did? It’s like he moved out of the way of something none of us can see,” wrote one keen viewer.
As many pointed out, the man would make sudden movements to the left or right while walking on the street. He would suddenly start jogging, only to stop and turn around again. Those occurrences stood out in context, especially considering he was following Taylor.
Some viewers said they saw the man behaving erratically as well. “[Oh my god], I saw this dude on the Upper West Side yesterday making really weird movements. [He] then pointed at me and ran away. So freaky.”
Women generally understood Taylor’s grievances with the issue, having gone through it themselves many times. “People really don’t understand how much girls deal [with] this until it’s recorded so clearly.. good for [you] for being so aware… [It’s so] exhausting to have to be,” wrote one commenter.
@ttayyyylorr The sick reality. Walking to work with our heads on a swivel is exhausting. I ended up double crossing the street and he followed there and back both times until i got to my destination where he waited outside the building for 5 minutes (according to the man behind the desk) #fyp #nyc #newyorkcity ♬ original sound – ttayyyylorr
The Mary Sue has reached out to Taylor via TikTok direct message for comment.
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