Instagram Screengrab of the video showing the woman blocking the Postmates driver.
A Black Postmates driver who was attempting to deliver food to a building in Los Angeles found his way blocked by a white woman who confronted him. The driver, Jordan Mykel Gipson, recorded the interaction and posted two videos showing the incident to his Instagram (also available in this article). The videos were posted on Wednesday night and quickly went viral on Thursday, with many people expressing their outrage on social media.
Gipson captioned one of the clips, “So a Karen stopped me from doing my job,” referring to the term that has recently been frequently used to describe a white woman who is being accused of acting entitled or racist. The identity of the woman in the video has not been revealed at this time.
The two videos are available here:
During the Interaction, the Woman Prevents Gipson From Entering the Building, Says ‘I Don’t Want You Here’
The first video starts with the woman asking Gipson why he’s wearing a “green thing” on his face, which is a bandana Gipson’s using as a face mask. She asks, “Is this a hold-up or something? Just take it off.”
The second video, which is much longer, shows the situation escalating as Gipson tries to contact the person in the building he’s delivering food to. Gipson says, “So you’re not gonna let me in to deliver this food? I have the number. I have food I have to deliver to somebody, ma’am.” As he’s dialing, the woman realizes he’s recording the interaction and says, “Don’t point that s*** at me. Don’t point that f****** thing at me.”
Gipson then says, “I have food I have to deliver to somebody, ma’am.” The woman responds, “Don’t deliver anything here, we don’t want your delivery, here. I don’t want you here at all.”
At this point, the customer gets on the intercom and the woman says, “Who is this? Who’s on the speaker? I live here in this building, who is this?” The customer provides his name and apartment number and says he’s getting a Postmates delivery. The woman repeats, “A Postmates delivery? Where do you live?” She then says, “No, I’m not letting this man in, can I bring your food to you? I’m at the entrance of the building.”
The customer then says, “Who are you? Who is this?” To which the woman responds, “I live here, a******. And I pay rent here.” The customer says, “So I do too, so what’re you asking?” The woman then says, “I’m asking you to get out of my building because you don’t live here.”
Gipson then interjects and says, “I’m a Black man — I’m just trying to deliver.” The woman cuts him off and says, “I don’t care if he’s a purple man. He does not live here. I don’t want him near here because I don’t know him and I don’t want people buzzing him into my building.” She says, “I don’t know him, I know everybody in this building.”
She then says, “He’s not a delivery boy. He had no car, no bike, nothing. He’s not a delivery service. He didn’t get out of a Lyft, he didn’t get out of an Uber, he didn’t get out of a car. He’s a Black guy walking around who has a clicker to get into any building he wants.”
Postmates Addressed the Incident, Said It Was ‘Appalled’ & Is Reaching Out to Gipson
@davenewworld_2 Like others seeing this video, we’re completely appalled by this event that took place. Postmates denounces racism, and is committed to the safety of everyone using our platform. Please know we are looking into this incident and in the process of reaching out to the courier.
Postmates responded to the video and said, “Like others seeing this video, we’re completely appalled by this event that took place. Postmates denounces racism, and is committed to the safety of everyone using our platform. Please know we are looking into this incident and in the process of reaching out to the courier.”
According to Daily News, Gipson posted a video to his Instagram story when the original interaction went viral and asked people to stop going to the building where the woman lives. He said, “I want to thank everybody for the support, but nobody pull up to this lady’s house, please. Please, I do not want to go to jail.”
Gipson’s girlfriend set up a GoFundMe for him, which he shared on his Instagram, and she wrote that he’s been working 3 or 4 jobs lately to be able to pay rent. She said he always stays positive and shared the video of his interaction, writing that he was very patient despite the woman not deserving his calm reaction. The fundraiser has so far raised over $3,000.
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