North Carolina woman fired after video of racist rant goes viral
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- A viral video showing a North Carolina woman verbally harassing two residents standing outside of their apartment complex has cost the woman her job.
The incident happened Friday, October 19, at Camden View Apartments in Charlotte.
According to WSOC, Leisa and Mary Garris said they were waiting outside of their apartment for AAA to jump their car when Susan Westwood approached them.
A video showed Westwood walking toward the Garris sisters and saying things like, "Hi, how are you? I'm hot, I'm beautiful. I'm 51, and what are we going to talk about tonight? Being hot? Being beautiful? Being white? This is Myers Park, SouthPark, B****. Why are you up in here hanging out?"
One of the sisters told Westwood she called the police because she felt threatened. Westwood later responded saying, "Do I need to bring my concealed weapons too? This is North Carolina by the way."
The video shows Westwood continuously asking the sisters if they live at the complex.
"Do you live here?" she says. "Why do we feel that we need to be here like hanging out? Let's call 911. I want to make sure there's nothing going on here."
Westwood then brought her race and salary into the mix.
"I make $125,000 a year and I want to make sure that you're all up in here," she say. "Girl, girl, girl. I'm white. I'm girl white. I'm white."
Days after the video was released, Westwood was fired from her job at Charter Communications.
Officials released this statement following the incident:
"The incident recorded in Charlotte is a blatant violation of Charter's code of conduct and clearly disregards the company's commitment to inclusion and respectful behavior. As such, Ms. Westwood's employment with the company has been terminated, effective immediately."
The sisters said they plan to take legal action.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said four criminal summons have been issued for the woman, including two counts of communicating threats and two counts of simple assault.
However, they have yet to be served.
The Associated Press Contributed to this post.
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