Black hotel employee refuses to give room to racist woman and becomes a meme

A black Holiday Inn Express employee in Austin, Texas, has gone viral after he uploaded a video of him refusing to give a woman a room after she called him the n-word while trying to make a reservation.

Craig Brooks, 26, known as @craignofridayy on Twitter, captured the moment a woman who called him a “f***ing n****r” appeared to regret her words and tried to get a room in the hotel he was working at.

“I understand that but you called me a f***ing n****r,” the video begins mid-conversation. A woman off-camera can be heard saying “my mother died” as she attempts to get a room in the same hotel the rest of her family were staying in.

Calmly, Craig continues: “I understand that but you called me f***ing n****r.”

“I’m sorry,” the woman eventually says.

Craig. “No. You weren’t sorry when you said it on the phone.”

The woman: “Listen… I need a room.”

The hotel worker goes on to say that “in the climate that we’re living in today’s society…it’s above me now".

In response to the exchange, people online created the 'It’s Above Me Now' meme.

The woman isn’t giving up, and once more tells him that she needs a room, and Craig responds that there is a "Best Western next door".

“Oh please,” the woman begs. “My daughter is here…

Craig reminds her that she called him a racial slur on the phone, and she responds by getting tearful and saying she’s had "a horrible day".

“And I had a horrible time when hearing that,” Craig interjects.

At this point the mother appears to address her daughter, telling her that the hotel worker is refusing to let her in and when the daughter asks why, Craig again repeats that the woman called him a racial slur. After a pregnant pause, the daughter ploughs ahead: “Sir, my grandma died.”

“I understand that, but it’s above me now,” Craig repeated.

In an update, Craig said that the woman's "whole family" was staying at his hotel and had "an attitude", but he finished work at 11pm.

The video was shared tens of thousands of times since it was uploaded, and both #Itsaboveme and #Bestwestern began trending in the US.

His calm response in the face of racism initially drew support from people all over the world.

And "it's above me" began trending online.

However, not long after he went viral, people on the internet discovered that Craig has made many transphobic comments on Twitter.

Craig responded to the tweets by saying he's "not against" trans people, he's just "not with it".

Speaking to BuzzFeed News about it, he said: "They’re mad lol I said what I said. People are so sensitive."

I’m gay and I KNOW people will not agree with me being gay. I just don’t and will never get trans. Period.

This fresh discovery has made people step back from praising him.

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