A UK woman has been praised for appearing to stand up for herself as an unknown man sits next to her on a nearly empty bus.
The incident was captured on camera by another passenger and posted on TikTok over Easter weekend where it has since been widely shared, with many users applauding the unnamed woman for her actions.
However, some believe the video may be a hoax, as the woman in it is strikingly similar to a woman in other viral videos online in which she has seemingly random, heated conversations with unknown men in public.
"You literally chose to sit right next to me on an empty bus, it's weird," she tells the man in the video.
Rather than move away, the man argues with the woman, insisting it wasn't strange to want to sit next to a total stranger.
"What does it matter?" he asks.
"I don't come on the bus to start dating someone," she says, adding: "I'm on the bus to get from A to B. I don't come to start talking to…"
The man attempts to talk over her and tells her to 'shut up' repeatedly.
"Do you know any words other than shut up?" the woman asks.
The video shows another male passenger join in and start to argue with the man as he refuses to back down.
The clip ends with the stranger still shouting at the passenger who stood up for the woman to "deal with it outside", before the two men walk down from the upper deck of the bus and out onto the street.
In just two days, the clip has gained 5.9 million views on TikTok with many commenters praising the woman, although some are insisting it is an acted skit.
"She's in the right. You don't force conversation on someone that clearly wants to be left alone," one said.
Another praised the male passenger for supporting the woman: "Respect to the woman standing her ground and the guy who helped as well. I really hope no one got hurt from this."
This article was amended on April 11, 2023 to include claims of the video being a hoax.
