The opera is the latest classroom on what to do and what not to do if you don’t want to go viral and be accused of being a racist or a hater. Let’s start with a video, and then get into the lessons for us.
First, it’s not clear who took this video, where it was taken, when it was taken, or who is in the video. But what seems to be the case is that this features an American black woman making small talk with an elderly white woman from another country prior to the performance of an opera.
This elderly white woman is now being accused of racism because she had the audacity to ask whether or not this black woman was at the opera for the first time. pic.twitter.com/87hkLNewd1
— Amala Ekpunobi (@amalaekpunobi) November 24, 2025
It may be difficult to understand, but if you just read the exchange, it seems innocent enough.
Early in their chat, the elderly woman asks the American if this is her first opera. The American says it is not, and the two go on to talk about opera things, their love of opera, and some of their global travels.
Again, before going further, there is more here we do not know than we do know. How the video made its way to the internet and who started the racism narrative is not clear. It very well may not be the American woman featured in the video. But the net effect is that, once the video was posted to the internet, the elderly widow has now been framed as the daughter of Hitler.
The comments 💀 pic.twitter.com/sOjHGv5gPH
— Amala Ekpunobi (@amalaekpunobi) November 24, 2025
I watched the video a few times to make sure I had this right, and I’m still not sure if the American was taking the video with her right hand or if someone in the row in front of them was doing so. It would appear, however, that this is a selfie-video only because the elderly woman doesn’t seem to be aware a camera is recording.
Also, I have to ask, since opera is not my thing: Is this how people talk about opera? It seems to me like the two are trying to one-up each other and condescend to one another. That’s why I avoid talking to snobs in general, and the more I watched this video, the more I sensed that both women's priorities in life just aren’t mine. I’ve been talked down to plenty by people like these two. Live and let live, right?
Clearly, someone made the premeditated decision to capture this small talk on video. Why? Why would someone take video of their own incidental conversations? Is it because the American didn’t like the tone of the older woman and had decided to make her pay by posting the conversation online? I don’t know. I can’t read minds.
I do know this: A camera was running, and if you’re not the one who pressed “record” on that camera, it's not good news for you if you’re in the frame.
So, here’s that lesson. If someone has their camera recording and you're in the frame, your job is to shut up and get away from the camera and the people with the camera as fast as possible. Don’t argue, don’t say anything else; just get out of the picture and away from that microphone. You can’t improve the situation for yourself if you stay on camera. No matter how innocent you think your words or behavior are, you need to know you are not in control of the situation. The person with the camera is, and for all intents, assume that 50,000 sets of eyes and ears are on you.
Trained lawyers take months to prepare for high-stakes situations like this when their audience is just a handful of jurors. Trained media personalities and celebrities have teams to prepare them for public exposure, and you often see how that turns out when they don’t have a script and a director. Do you really think you can effectively diffuse the damage from a selfie video on the fly?
This never turns out well. Whoever is taking the video likely wants clicks and shares, and they want you to unwittingly give that to them.
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What if you can’t get out of the picture? What if you’re just trying to do your job, and a customer or a member of the public starts recording?
The same basic rules apply. Just do your job. Say nothing and do nothing other than your job as you want it to be seen on camera. This is not the time to answer questions that are irrelevant to the matter at hand. Offer no excuses, no explanations, ask no questions, nothing. Do not elaborate.
Awkward silence is much better than anything you might do to fill that void with your own words or actions that will be taken out of context through careful editing.
Here’s a bonus tip, and I wish I didn’t have to say this, but you need to be more aware of your surroundings when it comes to smartphones. Every time you leave your house, someone can and probably is taking video, whether it’s your neighbor’s doorbell camera, someone at the gym, or someone on your flight. Just make it a matter of course to spot cameras when you’re out and about, and act accordingly.
While in this case, the issue centers on allegations of racism, it could be anything. Whatever leftists (and it usually is a leftist) want to make an issue, they will do so with edited smartphone video and a social media account. Never give them what they want.
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