TikTok influencer criticised for filming ‘sad’ woman eating alone: ‘Absolutely not’

‘Some people like and enjoy being alone,’ one person says

A popular TikTok influencer has been criticised after he filmed a woman eating alone, apparently in the belief that she was “sad”.

Neenib Youkana, a TikTok user with 1.7m followers, recorded a video of a woman by herself with her dog at a restaurant in a food court.

“I saw this girl who looked sad eating alone so I did this,” he explained in the clip. In the video, he approaches a waiter at the restaurant and asks if he could pay for the stranger’s meal.

“I see that girl down there sitting alone and I was wondering if I can, kind of, just pay for her meal,” he asks the restaurant worker.

Standing from across the food court, Youkana films the moment the woman sitting alone learned that her meal had been paid for. When the waiter tells her that “some random stranger” took care of her lunch, the woman appears dumbfounded as she continued to ask: “What?”

“It’s a random act of kindness, you’ve been chosen today,” he says, to which she replies: “No, no, no. I want to know who.”

The waiter tells her that the stranger is “around in the mall” and saw her sitting alone, before returning to her table with another surprise: a bouquet of pink roses, which Youkana noted matched the colour of her dog’s leash.

However, the woman emphasises to the waiter that she “needed to know” who paid for her meal and sent her flowers. “How am I going to find out?” she asks him, as he replies: “You’ll never know.”

Since it was posted on 27 July, the TikTok has been viewed more than 18.5m times. Despite Youkana’s alleged kind gesture, many people in the comments section believed that the woman didn’t appear “sad” to be eating alone at all. Rather, they suggested he could have “scared her” by approaching her out of the blue.

“But she isn’t sad. She is enjoying her meal in peace,” one person commented. “I love dining alone!”

“She is just vibing on her own. What do you mean?” another user wrote, while someone else added: “Some people like and enjoy being alone. It doesn’t mean they’re sad or lonely.”

Meanwhile, others wondered whether Youkana took things too far by allegedly paying for the woman’s meal and sending her flowers.

“Absolutely not. I would be so freaked out,” one person shared. “Security would have to escort me to my car.”

“She seemed scared,” another person wrote, while someone else said: “I’d think I had a stalker.”

“This would creep me out so much! Who is watching me???” one user commented.

Some people simply didn’t like the prospect of being filmed by a stranger while eating alone, like one person who said: “If I found out that I was being filmed when I was eating by myself, that would be my villain origin story.”

“My biggest fear is I’m eating alone and someone films me thinking I am a sad person,” another chimed in.

While many people agreed that eating alone can be fun, studies have suggested that solo dining may actually be bad for one’s health. In 2017, researchers found that men who eat alone have a 45 per cent greater risk of developing obesity, as well as links to high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Last month, a two Michelin-starred restaurant sparked controversy when it introduced a minimum amount that diners were required to spend when eating solo. At Hotel Café Royal, a five-course tasting menu costs £125 per person, while it’s £175 for seven courses. However, an increase in prices by 11 per cent will bring the five-course meal to £165 and seven courses to £195. This means that solo visitors may be charged a minimum of £330 for just one five-course tasting menu.

The Independent has contacted Youkana for comment.