‘Make him feel stupid’: Influencer’s revenge over man’s ‘rude’ gym act

An influencer captured the awkward moment an “entitled” man tried to “belittle” her for filming TikTok videos while at the gym – only for her to then point out how much they earn her.

Madi Webb was filming herself doing exercises at her local gym in Los Angeles when the complete stranger criticised her out of the blue, The Sun reports.

The “rude” man suggested her videos were “distracting” her from working out, telling Ms Webb she would “get more out of” her gym session if she put down her phone.

But, the 25-year-old had the ultimate comeback and rather than getting defensive, put the gymgoer in his place by “making him feel stupid”, as she claims to earn between $US10,000 ($15,008) and $US35,000 ($52,528) per TikTok video.

The social media content creator shared the footage on TikTok captioned: “where tf (the f**k) did he find the audacity” – since going viral, with 2.5 million views.

“Your form’s good. I don’t know why you have to make these little videos. It’s kind of distracting from your workout. You’d probably get more out of it (if you stopped filming),” the man can be heard telling Ms Webb in the clip.

The footage shows the influencer smiling politely before telling him: “See, I’m already getting a lot out of it, because I make so much money making these ‘little’ videos.”

As the man walks away, the video shows the 25-year-old putting her middle finger up and angrily mouthing “f**k you” at the camera.

Many users took to the comments to praise the influencer for her “perfect response”, while others questioned if the man was trying to “flirt”.

Ms Webb had just joined the new gym and revealed she was in the middle of filming herself exercise when the stranger appeared out of nowhere.

Rather than becoming defensive, Ms Webb admitted she found the experience “funny” and wanted to “stand in (her) power” against the “rude” man.

“I thought it was funny. I grabbed my phone to record him because he just sounded like an idiot,” she said.

“I already had my phone out recording so all I had to do was pull up the camera.

“He was entitled. I wanted to essentially make him feel stupid. If people are going to come up to belittle you then you might as well stand in your power and not allow that to happen.

“I honestly think his intention was to do that immature boy dance and poke fun at me so I would notice him, instead of just being a kind person.

“If he wanted my attention there are so many ways he could get it, he didn’t have to insult me in order to do so.

“Women are so conditioned to think that’s flirting. I don’t think it’s flirting. I think it’s just rude. If he wanted to flirt with me there’s a million ways he could have done so.

“Instead, he chose to put me down. Any man who needs to put down a woman in order to feel more masculine is not a man.

“I know that responding defensively is never going to turn out the way you would like it to. It essentially gives them more of an excuse to be an a**hole.

“He was embarrassed because I was not playing his game at all or getting offended by it or being defensive.

“I didn’t do anything that was b*tchy or rude. All I did was respond to him very politely but in a sassy way.

“I don’t think he was expecting that response at all. Definitely not. That’s my favourite way to respond to men.”

The podcaster, who manages all her own content, admitted this is not the first time she has been “belittled” for her TikTok videos, but having come “from nothing” she is grateful for it helping her to get to where she is now.

“I always get belittled for my videos. I have since the day I started social media. It’s jealousy in a way,” Ms Webb said.

“The only difference between me and everyone else is that I’m not afraid to be seen trying. I never even posted the videos that I was filming in that gym. I was just practising for future gym content.

“I was not afraid to pop out with my phone and film my videos and look silly. I’m not scared of that. When people call me out for looking cringey or annoying or silly or stupid it feels like a compliment to me.

“By doing this I am where I am right now. I live in a penthouse in LA. I came from nothing. So there’s literally nothing you can say to make me feel bad about what I’m doing.

“I manage myself so everything that I earn is essentially self-earned. I’m more of an entrepreneur than an influencer.”

Ms Webb admitted that despite her response coming naturally to her, she used to be a “people pleaser” and has had to learn to “empower” herself and now encourages other women to do the same so they never feel afraid to “take up space”.

“I grew up being such a people pleaser. Every part of me has been very much learned because I didn’t want to be that way anymore,” she said.

“Once I learned to empower myself all I wanted to do was empower other women. And give them the skills and the tools and advice and tips I wish I had.

“I feel like all my content is a love letter to my younger self who didn’t have anyone to look up to who was teaching me how to step into my power.

“You are entitled to take up space. Men are so intimidated by women who are not afraid to take up space and to stand in their power. A lot of men are intimidated by that because it’s very anti-patriarchy.

“You’re allowed to be there. You’re allowed to do what you want to do. You’re allowed to film your workouts. Or, you’re allowed to just work out in peace with your headphones on.

“The most courageous thing you can do is not be afraid to be un-liked and misunderstood.”

However, the influencer warned that everyone must “prioritise safety” and admitted she would not have responded the way she did if she had been in any danger.

“I always tell everyone to prioritise safety over everything else. If you are alone with a man in a gym and he comes up to you, do not smile and be petty and sassy,” she said.

“If you feel safe in your environment and you’re around other people I would say never ever allow anyone to make you feel small.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission

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