All across the Internet last week rang a noise that reverberated through the consciousnesses of people who enjoy lauging at the expense of others. Of course, it wasn't just the sound of someone experiencing the futility of trying to get a fair shake in a retail store, or the sound of a retail employee being berated by circumstances they're likely not in a position to do anything about, but the echo of that sound, and how it was heard.
But, when reduced to brass tacks, it was, quite simply, the sound of some lady, at an Apple Store, completely losing her shit. Like so:
And now we know some of the story behind the infamous Vine.
For one thing, that it was taken by TV host and actress Porscha Coleman, who's appeared everywhere from MTV to the Disney Channel to BET and beyond. Coleman explains some of what happened to Complex.
For starters, it all went down when she dropped into The Apple Store at The Grove, a pretty popular shopping scene in Los Angeles. As for what the problem was exactly, Coleman isn't sure. "Perhaps a Macbook," she suggests, "seeing that she needed a 'part.'"
Coleman had been browsing the store when she saw the entire scene start to play out. "The woman was getting agitated and speaking in a rather aggressive tone with the staff member ten minutes before I began to film her," Coleman recalls. Referring to her Vine clip, she says, "That was the peak of her rant. It just so happened that I caught the seven second meltdown." But what didn't we see? What was the coda to the Vine clip heard 'round the Internet?
"After her meltdown, she stared down the Apple Store staff member while the young lady gave her an explanation as to why she needed an appointment to be helped," said Coleman. "The Apple Store representative was so calm, it was truly admirable. She was getting screamed at, stared down, and never raised her voice nor lost her cool."
Needless to say, Coleman wasn't the only one who noticed all of this go down. "Everyone else in the store thought she was on medication and/or had forgotten it, seeing that she was in such a public, traffic-oriented location." That's all she knows. She didn't see the rest of the thing play out, because after she posted the Vine, she thought she was done with the episode. Not quite. To her surprise, the clip went viral, and Coleman received calls and emails from ABC 7, Fox News, Yahoo, cNet, and others asking for permission to use the clip.
"I had honestly forgotten about it. Then checked my Vine feed and noticed that it had a few thousand hits. The likes and shares began to grow."
"Then, it skyrocketed."
The woman herself has yet to be identified. But that hasn't stopped her rage from being felt around the Internet. On Gawker, it was the sound of a "Screaming Lady Living Out Your Own Inner Monologue." On Buzzfeed, it was the sound of a "Woman Screaming, Perfectly Capturing How We've All Felt." On Jezebel, it was the sound of an "Angry Apple Store Lady's Meltdown Representing the Fury in All Of Us." On BroBible, it was the sound of "Horrifying Proof that Hell is Other People."
But to Coleman, it just "seemed like someone who didn't want to wait or be overlooked." Although for her, that doesn't justify the action itself, as she explains that she felt the woman was wrong "for taking such a drastic approach to receive attention, when it was visible that the store was crowded."
And maybe that's all it boils down to: The story of someone trying to get the treatment they feel like they deserve, rightfully or not, and the way they'll go about trying to get it. On that note, if you were there, or were the woman who was screaming, or were the Apple Store rep who was screamed at, we'd love to hear from you. There's just something about a screaming woman in an Apple Store that's acted, for the last week, as a weird Rorsarch Test of ragey impulses. How can you not want to know more, or at the very least, stare?
PREVIOUSLY: Watch This Lady Get Really, Really Angry at The Apple Store
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