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The white woman who was fired from her job as a realtor after video of her refusing to allow a black man into her building in St Louis, Montana, has spoken out to defend her actions.
Hilary Thornton, 32, was dubbed 'Apartment Patty' and 'Key Fob Kelly' over a now-viral video that's been viewed more than 8 million times on Facebook, which showed her refusing to allow her fellow resident D’Arreion Toles into the building without proving that he lived there.
In the video, she can be heard saying:
Do you live here? I'm sorry the keypad is right there, I'm sorry, I'm uncomfortable getting out of the way.
When Toles replied that it was his building too, and that he'd already buzzed in, she said:
...you just walked off the street and don't have a keypad. You pushed your way in.
Now, in an interview with KTVI-TV on Wednesday, she's claimed that she isn't 'racist' and that she 'didn't do anything wrong', reports the New York Post.
Speaking to the television station, she claimed that she was just following instructions:
My only intent was to follow the direction that I had been given by our condo association board members repeatedly and that is to never allow access to any individual that you do not know.
She continued:
I simply asked him if he lived there because the direction from the condo is so repeated that if you do not know the person, you do not let them in.
In the video, Thornton repeatedly asks Toles for his key fob, which she says would mean she believed that he lived in the building if he could produce it. She explained that if he'd had one, she would have given him access to the building because it's 'the only indicator that someone lives in that building'.
Since the video went viral, Thornton has repeatedly been blasted as a racist. Speaking to the news network regards the claims, she said:
This is absolutely false and heartbreaking... those are words that truly cut deep.
She then added:
I do not think I did anything wrong.
The video is just one of a whole series that have gone viral in America, showing white people policing the day-to-day lives of African Americans, often calling the police on them for engaging in mundane activities such as babysitting white children, having a barbecue, or cheering on their children at sports events.
More: White woman fired after viral video shows her denying access to black tenant
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