'Keep Yourself on Mute': TikToker's Shut Down of Man Interrupting Her Viewed Over 10M Times

A young actor and filmmaker is receiving praise after showing her followers a glimpse of an interaction with a man on a recent call for an upcoming project.

In the TikTok video, now viewed over 10 million times, @directedbybrini, 20, is heard shutting down the man who "kept" speaking over her while presenting.

In writing over the video she wrote that the man had started presenting her ideas as his own.

"And he said 'the problem with you women is' so I cut him off right back," she wrote. "I have no tolerance for this anymore."

There has long been a disparity between men and women in Hollywood in everything from front-of-the-camera roles to positions behind the scenes.

In the 2020-21 report from the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, the group found that for the second consecutive year women comprised 16 percent of directors working on the top 100 grossing films in 2020—up from 12 percent in 2019 and 4 percent in 2018. Beyond directing, the study found that women made up 21 percent of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers working on the top 100 grossing films in 2020, up from 20 percent in 2019.

In the comment section of the viral video, @directedbybrini whose first name is Sabrina explained that she owns a production company and the meeting she filmed was one where she was presenting a commercial to a brand. She was brought in to produce and direct the project, and the man who spoke over her was on the marketing team.

"Please keep yourself on mute," Sabrina is heard saying at the start of the video seemingly cutting off the man who interrupted her.

"I'm actually not done speaking," she continued. "While I respect your ability to talk on and on but my ears actually do have a limit. I find it extremely disrespectful and degrading that you felt a need to not only interrupt my entire presentation but also repeat back to me what I had just offered to the table."

The video received numerous comments from people supporting and applauding Sabrina's handling of the situation.

Filmmaking
In a now-viral TikTok, a woman shows how she shuts down a man who continued to interrupt her during a work meeting. This stock photo shows a camera and clapperboard. kckate16/Getty Images

"Ah, yes, I've been in video production for over 20 years now," one commenter wrote. "This happens daily! I have my own company now and only work with women."

"This is seriously so inspirational. You handled this so well. I would have been yelling," another person wrote.

In a follow-up video, Sabrina gave a bit more background into her experience owning a production company from the age of 18.

"I knew as a young woman I wasn't going to be necessarily taken seriously so I practice all the time and am lucky to have wonderful mentors in the industry who have helped me find ways to respectfully get my point across and turn the table back around to me in a meeting."

She said she initially started filming for her "close friends" Instagram story but her friends encouraged her to post it for a wider audience.

Newsweek reached out to Sabrina for comment.

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