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Woman's racist outburst at Indian American shopper goes viral
The woman's employer said it was "deeply troubled" by the remarks and launched an investigation.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 18, Jun 2026
- 17:32 EDT
- 48
Sarina Gupta/ Women making racist remarks / Instagram/ @gupta_sarina
A woman in the US has sparked outrage after she was caught on camera telling an Indian-American woman at a Connecticut supermarket to "go back to your f*ing country" during a racist tirade that went viral on social media.
The incident took place on June 2 at a ShopRite store, where Sarina Gupta was returning items at a customer service counter when another customer allegedly became impatient and launched a verbal attack.
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The woman was later identified by social media users as Victoria Louise Mason, a nurse employed by The Nathaniel Witherell, a Stamford-based healthcare facility.
Gupta, who was recently identified as the woman in the viral video, said the confrontation occurred while she was processing returns after spending her birthday with family.
According to Gupta, the returns process was taking longer than usual. "I suggested that she could go use one of the other registers," Gupta said. "That is when she just completely unprovoked, lashed out at me and yelled, 'Go back to your country.'"
Gupta said she immediately began recording the encounter on her phone after hearing the remark.The video shows Mason directing a series of racist comments at Gupta, including telling her to "stay out of America" and "go eat your bacon."
At one point, Mason can be heard saying, "Doesn't matter, put me on Instagram. Put me wherever you want. Go eat your bacon," before making an obscene gesture.
Gupta said she was shocked by the incident and the fact that such remarks were made openly in public.
"I was just shocked. I never heard someone say that out loud and in public," she said. "What kind of world do we live in that people feel empowered to say something like that?"
She also defended the supermarket employees who witnessed the confrontation, saying they appeared just as shaken by the incident as she was.
"I don't blame the employees who were working there," Gupta said. "They were all people of color as well. Honestly, they were just as shocked and scared as I was."
Following the video's circulation online, The Nathaniel Witherell issued a statement saying it was aware of the incident involving an employee and had launched an investigation.
"We are deeply troubled by the comments made in the video," the facility said in a statement. "These remarks do not reflect the values, policies, or culture of Nathaniel Witherell."
The statement added that the organization has a "zero-tolerance policy regarding hate speech, discrimination, and harassment in any form" and remains committed to maintaining a diverse, inclusive and respectful environment for employees and the communities it serves.
Gupta said she was disturbed to learn of Mason's profession.
"It has come to my attention that her employer, Nathaniel Witherell nursing home, has come out with a statement. I was shocked and hurt and disturbed to find out that she is actually a nurse at a nursing home," Gupta said. "The thought of her working with people of color, patients of color, is just absolutely terrifying."
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