New York man screams N-word at black woman in viral video, says he hates blacks and hangs them 'on weekends'
UTICA, NEW YORK: A man has been caught on camera while he hurled racial slurs at a passing car occupied by a black woman in Utica. Barry Wardell was seen leaning out of the front passenger’s side window to shout N-word at the driver of another vehicle, Jakeila Phillips, who filmed the encounter.
Wardell reportedly said, “I hate n—!” and when Phillips asked him, “What did you say?” he again said: “I said I hate n—!” “Put me on Facebook. Black lives don’t matter! N—!” the man in the video screamed, leaning out the window as they drove down Genesee Street.
But despite the racial attack, Phillips did not lose her calm and chuckled as she asked Wardell if he had “anything else” to say. “Blacks should be slaves. Give me back my grandparents’ property,” he said, referring to her “f***ing ancestors.” During the encounter, the woman also asked him what he did for a living, Wardell responded: “I cook. I’m a chef. And I hang n— on the weekend.” However, at the end of his rant, Wardell bizarrely added, “But no disrespect to you” as Phillips drove away.
The woman shared the video on her Facebook page on Saturday, June 27. She wrote in the caption: “When I tell people I experience racist/prejudiced encounters all the time they never believe me because we live in Utica! I finally got to catch one on camera 🎥”
Soon the video became viral. Many appreciated Phillips for her bravery and calmness. “Lady, I don’t even know you & I’m so proud of you. For having the calm presence of mind to record that & handling it with such dignity... you are amazing. I’m sorry that happened to you, but I’m glad you brought it to light. That kind of ugliness needs to be exposed & rotten bastards like that need to be under a spotlight so the world can see who they really are. Bravo. 🙌🏼🙏🏻💪👏,” wrote one user. “I am so sorry that you were disrespected! You handled it so elegantly! People like this is what wrong with our world!” added another one.
Local police also took notice of the footage and released a statement on Sunday, June 28, on Facebook that read: “We have recently been made aware of a video circulating on social media regarding a male screaming derogatory racial slurs at a passing vehicle. We are actively looking into the incident to identify if any crimes have been committed. Regardless of the criminality of it we were disgusted and horrified by the words used. It is one of the most ignorant things anyone has ever said and is not indicative of the citizens here and the city we are all proud of. If anyone has information regarding this incident please contact the Utica Police Department at 315-223-3464,” it added.
President of Hamilton College, where Wardell worked as an employee of the school’s food services provider, said the school got to know about the video on the morning of June 28. He called Wardell’s behavior “an extreme violation of our community standards” that will not be tolerated. “I am appalled by what is on the video. He will not work here again and has been banned from our campus effective immediately,” Wippman said in a statement.
The food contractor for the school, Bon Appetit, also issued a statement and said it will take “swift and appropriate action.” “We condemn these vile comments whole-heartedly,” Bon Appetit said in the statement.