A fight at Bath & Body Works was captured in a viral video that shows Arizona store employees wrestling with a female customer on the ground. However, authorities cited the female customer and another female customer, accusing them of being the aggressors.
According to TMZ, the fight broke out at Fashion Square Mall in Scottsdale, Arizona. You can watch the video below.
Heavy reached out to Bath & Body Works’ corporate office for comment but has not yet received a response. Some people dubbed the customer a “Karen,” but others thought the employees were wrong for going hands-on.
You can read the police report into the fight here. It identifies the main female customer involved in the fight as Johlyn O’Daniel. “It was determined that probable cause existed for Briana and Johlyn’s arrest as they were identified as the aggressors,” the report says, also naming Briana Johnson, who is O’Daniel’s daughter-in-law. They were criminally cited in lieu of detention with assault and disorderly conduct. The employees were not cited by police.
O’Daniel’s social media accounts are deleted, but a cache of them says she worked as a real estate agent or new homes consultant.
Here’s what you need to know:
Police Reports Allege That the Fight Started After an Exchange of Words Between Customers at the Cash Register
The woman who first posted the fight video on Twitter, named Genevieve, wrote, “A whole fight just happened at bath & body works 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I’m dying.”
The video, which has had more than 5.6 million views, appears to show a Bath & Body Works employee hitting a woman before multiple employees start fighting with her. She falls to the ground.
At one point, three employees were tussling on the ground with the woman as other people got involved. “She just attacked me,” someone says on the video. A male employee then gets involved. “Out now,” someone says on the video.
“Do not touch me. She attacked me,” the female customer who ended up on the ground says. I
TMZ later reported that Scottsdale police said two women were charged with crimes in the incident, which they said a preliminary investigation indicates began when “somebody cut in line.”
The Scottsdale police report obtained by Heavy says that an officer was advised there was an “active fight inside the Bath and Body Works store.”
When the officer arrived, he was directed toward “one of the involved parties,” identified as Briana Johnson, according to the police report.” Another woman, was “screaming about being attacked by them while she had her baby.”
Briana Johnson told the officer that she was in the store “waiting in line with her mother Rachelle Johnson and mother-in-law Johlyn O’Daniel,” according to the police report. She said another customemr was “standing off to the side.” Briana Johnson said O’Daniel “went to pay and they both had their masks down. The employee asked for the next in line and Rachelle went over to the register and the victim said to her, ‘Excuse me do you not see me and my f****** daughter standing here?’” the police report alleges.
The police report further alleges that Briana Johnson told police:
Briana asked Toya what the problem was and Toya told her that Rachelle stepped on her daughter. Briana told her that Rachelle did not step on her daughter. She said that Toya then went over to Johlyn and told her that her husband is a cop and get them arrested for not having their masks on and her daughter had Covid. Briana said that she didn’t know what happened, but they started yelling at each other.
Briana said that trying to be defensive, she started yelling back. Briana then went to help Rachelle at the register telling herself let’s just pay and get out. She turned around and saw that people had their phones out recording. … Briana said that Johlyn and an employee were fist fighting. Johnson said that there was three employees on Johlyn so she went to pull an employee off and the employee punched her and she started punching back.
Another victim told police that “two employees and herself were the victims and that she had her baby and that is why she was freaking out,” according to the police report. It continues:
(The victim) said that she was line but off to the side because she was trying to maintain distance. (The victim) was asked by one of them if she was waiting and she sadi she was. Rachelle then came over and put her whole body over the stroller with her daughter in it. (The victim) responded, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa” telling Rachelle she needed to watch what she was doing.
(The victim) said that “They” began to go after her verbally and she went away from them. One of them asked her what her problem was and Toya told her that they need to be mindful of peoples space. … Johlyn and Briana both got in her face and she told them that she has family in law enforcement and not to do that. (The victim) said that Johlyn then got in her face over the stroller telling her that she didn’t care. … (The victim) said that Johlyn “Slightly” pushed her and the employees were trying to pull Johlyn away.
Rachelle Johnson was “immediately difficult not wanting to provide her identification” but she then provided it, the police report alleges. She told police she was walking to the register when Another victim “looked at her and said, ‘Excuse you’ and Rachelle told her she didn’t do anything,” according to the police report. She told police she was about a foot from the stroller and that when she finished checking out she “turned around to see three employees on top of Johlyn.”
Then, on March 7, police became aware of an Instagram post that contained video of the incident. “The video shows Toya appearing to be attempting to distance herself and employees directing Briana and Johlyn out of the store,” the report says. “Briana re-engages with Toya as employees are trying to keep them separated and Briana throws a bag at Toya,” the report says. “Johlyn then tries to push past the employee towards Briana and Toya and the employee attempts to push her back, but makes contact with her face,” according to the police report.
The report further alleges:
Johlyn then grabs the employees hair and they began wrestling until another employee comes up to assist and all three go to the ground. Briana then engages herself once more getting involved in the scuffle on the ground and ends up punching and being punched by an employee. … It is clear that employees are attempting to peacefully trespass Briana and Johlyn repeatedly telling them to leave the store.
Video surveillance footage also captured Johnson and O’Daniel as the physical aggressors, the police report says.
Another officer “noticed red marks on Johlyn’s face and upper chest. Johlyn was yelling, ‘I was the one that was assaulted. I just want my stuff,'” according to the police report.
O’Daniel told police the victim “got upset because she felt that she had been ‘cut in front of.’ Johlyn said that she ‘came to Briana’s defense’ and began yelling back at Toya,” the police report says. She said a “female employee began pushing her by her arms. Johlyn said she told the employee that she had just paid for her merchandise and she needed her things.” According to the police report, O’Daniel said the employee told her repeatedly to “get out” and then “several other employees surrounded her. The female employee became angry and grabbed Johlyn’s hair and pulled her to the ground.”
The police report indicates that a male employee said O’Daniel attacked his employee, Katharine Hodges, and grabbed her by the hair. Another employee, Crystal Tree, then came running over to help Hodges and they all began to fall to the floor. He said the incident was “distressing and crazy,” according to the police report.
Hodges had “a red scratch on her neck,” according to the police report. She said she told O’Daniel to leave the store, and “O’Daniel was yelling, ‘I’m not f****** going’ and screaming in her face.”
Tree told police she tried to break up the fight. “Crystal described the fighting as Johlyn swinging at Kate and grabbing Kate’s hair. Crystal said she reacted and put Johlyn in a headlock to get her to stop fighting Kate,” according to the police report.
A Second Video Shows the Earlier Stages of the Incident
A second video shows more of the incident.
What started the fight? The woman who shared the video on Twitter wrote, “IT ALL STARTED BECAUSE… white lady was standing too close to another customer (not shown) & they started arguing. BBW employees tried to de-escalate but the white lady wouldn’t leave so that’s where the video picks up :)”
Genevieve also wrote, “White lady pushed many people before hand also…. she was loud & uncooperative the whole time before the fight started.”
Here is the beginning of that Bath and Body Works brawl.
So…for real.
Fuck Around And Find Out. 🤷🏾♀️
In the second video a woman tells the customer she’s “trailer park trash.”
Some of the reaction on Twitter was critical of the workers.
“bath and body works are gonna pay that lady, a lot. i’m against anti-maskers but i’m also against some peon cashiers thinking theyre gonna put their hands on someone,” wrote one person.
“Welp, if this is how Bath and Body works manages their establishments security I won’t shop there,” wrote another.
Others weren’t so quick to condemn the employees. One person commented, “Don’t tell me that workers don’t deserve a $15/hour minimum wage when they have to deal with crazy people like this at Bath and Body Works during a pandemic.”
“i know absolutely no context but i’m firmly on the bath and body works employee’s side,” wrote another. “Bath and Body Works employees got turned down for a $15 minimum, don’t get free health care, and absolutely don’t need your s***,” wrote another.
“I have not been to a bath and body works since the mid 2000s but I will be going back. This is VERY good advertising. Whatta a treat,” comedian Nicole Byer wrote.