A white therapist in Georgia has been fired after she was filmed asking a black man who was fishing in the lake near her house if he lived there.
Anthony Gibson, an aspiring actor who now manages multiple social media channels and shares memes and fishing clips, posted the footage of their meeting on TikTok on Tuesday.
DailyMail.com has discovered that online records show that Gibson’s father is registered as a homeowner in the gated community where the incident took place. Under community rules, Gibson was allowed to fish in the lake without a permit as a guest of a resident.
Gibson, who lives in Columbus, Georgia, has been challenged several times by locals in the area, asking why he’s there and saying it’s more for residents only.
In the clip, which has been viewed 7.5 million times, the woman — dubbed Tanya by her employer Sea Glass Therapy — approaches Gibson and a friend and asks, “How are you?”
They greet her hello, and she then asks, “Are you residents somehow?”
Gibson’s friend replies, “Are we bothering you in some way?”
Tanya says, “I just have to ask.”
Anthony Gibson, an aspiring actor and social media influencer, documents his fishing adventures online. On Tuesday, he posted a clip of an encounter with a woman named Tanya
Tanya asked Gibson and his friend if they lived there and said the lake was open only to residents
The friend says, “Don’t talk to me.”
Tanya continues, “This lake is for residents only. So…’
She says she will take a photo of their license plates and “send it on.”
Gibson, holding the camera as he films himself and the encounter, says, “Okay, so this is what I’m going through.” This is the third person. I’m in my own neighborhood and a white guy was harassing me while I was fishing. Another white man harassed me while fishing.’
As she walks away, he yells, “Hey, don’t leave now!” Do you live here? Where is your address? This is incredible.’
Gibson regularly shares photos and videos from his fishing trips
He asks for her name, for “the next meeting,” then gets to work recording her license plate number.
Sea Glass Therapy, based in Newnan, said they stopped working with Tanya, who was a freelance member of their team.
“Sea Glass Therapy is a place of acceptance, healing and inclusion of all people, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or background,” the company wrote in a statement on Facebook.
We are against all forms of discrimination. We have ended our business relationship with the independent contractor, Tanya, in order to uphold our values and standards.
“We strive to serve our community and do what we can to meet its needs, working with integrity.”
Gibson has documented previous encounters with local residents, and he and his friends say the affluent white community cannot accept having a group of black people living in their midst.
Gibson later that same day filmed a white man calling his name John, saying he was on the board of the Home Owners’ Association and asking if they lived there.
They asked him for his address, which he gave, and then refused to give theirs.
“I think she literally called him for help,” Gibson said in comments to his video.
On June 10, he posted a video at night showing that the police had been called.
“The same people are harassing us because we’re young and black,” he said.
He said he was repeatedly asked for his identification.
He captioned the clip: “Busted by neighbors and police because I’m not allowed to fish in my own neighborhood!”