Am I wrong for ending an interview after I recognised the candidate as someone who recorded me for a TikTok?

Shirley Stafford Hours
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The buzz of a busy office pauses as an interviewer flips through a candidate’s file, only to freeze at a familiar name. A month ago, a TikTok video stung her—filmed without consent, it mocked her casual outfit with a cruel caption. Now, the woman behind that video sits across the desk, unaware her past actions are about to crash her job prospects.

Dismissing the interview, the hiring manager stands firm on principle, but friends’ mixed reactions spark doubt. This tale of digital accountability and workplace ethics dives into the fallout of online behavior, asking: when do personal actions justify professional consequences?

‘Am I wrong for ending an interview after I recognised the candidate as someone who recorded me for a TikTok?’

Hi all. I’m looking for some non biased opinions based on what happened to me at work today. For some context about a month ago, I came across a TikTok which had quite a few likes (over 40k) and it was a women who had taken pictures of random strangers in public and “rated” their outfits.

I already believe taking pictures of random people is extremely weird behaviour and posting it is also pretty odd. Each slide was a different person however my slide was of me wearing a not so great outfit as I was on the way back from dropping my daughter off at a friends house and popped to my local shop to grab milk.

The woman who had taken the picture captioned my slide “2/10, it’s giving just woke up and couldn’t be bothered, not flattering for the body type either” it really shocked me to see, one, myself on the internet when I didn’t ask to be photographed, and 2, to be judged on an outfit that really wasn’t supposed to be an “outfit” I looked at the account and got a look at their face and their name.

It dampened my mood for the day but it was fine. Fast forward to today and I was intervening a candidate for a position at my place of work. Once I had looked at the name on the sheet I recognised it but couldn’t remember why. As soon as this woman sat down it clicked and I knew exactly who she was.

Once she sat down I let her know that I recognised her and that I would not be continuing the interview based on the fact I was aware of who she was and then searched her name on the TikTok app and showed her the video she made.

I let her know that I was in fact one of the people featured and that I did not agree with taking strangers pictures nor did I agree with shaming them online. She apologised and told me she did not think of the implications at the time. I dismissed the interview and told my friends about the incident.

Some of them did not agree and told me i should have set aside my own feelings and kept it professional. Other friends agreed with me and said I was within reason. I’m trying to get a better understanding of if I overreacted here and maybe should have at least continued the interview even if I did not employ her.

Social media’s spotlight can burn, as this interviewer learned when a candidate’s TikTok shaming resurfaced in a job interview. Recognizing the woman who filmed and mocked her without consent, she ended the session, prioritizing integrity over procedure. The candidate’s apology—claiming she didn’t consider the impact—failed to undo the breach of trust.

A 2023 study in found that 70% of employers screen candidates’ social media, with 30% rejecting applicants for unprofessional posts. Publicly shaming strangers signals poor judgment, a concern in .

Dr. Pamela Rutledge, a media psychologist, states, “Online behavior mirrors offline character—shaming reflects low empathy” (pamelarutledge). The candidate’s video violated privacy and humiliated others, traits unfit for a professional role. The interviewer’s decision upheld workplace values over personal bias.

In similar cases, experts advise documenting evidence, like screenshots, and informing HR for transparency. Hiring should balance skills with character. This interviewer’s stand shows that digital actions carry real-world weight, and accountability is non-negotiable.

Here’s the input from the Reddit crowd:

Reddit’s hive mind swarmed this drama like it’s a viral thread gone wild, dishing out cheers for justice and shade at the candidate’s gall. Picture a rowdy group chat where everyone’s hyped, tossing fist-bumps for the interviewer’s guts and eye-rolls at TikTok antics. Here’s the unfiltered scoop from the crowd, buzzing with sass and support:

Epoxos − Not wrong. Actions have consequences. People need to know doing these kinds of things isn’t ok.

Aberrantkitten − Absolutely the right thing to do. I would not want that person in my office at all. She’s an HR nightmare.

THEREALMRAMIUS − Oh no.. Consequences.

scholarlyowl03 − Not wrong! It’s why people need to be careful of what they put out there. You literally *never* know who will see it!

Equal-Brilliant2640 − Report what happened to your higher ups, they may want to know why an interview was cut short. she may try to complain, saying she was unfairly targeted (after she deletes the video). I also hope you recorded or screenshotted her video as proof. NW, She’s an online bully, and is starting see the consequences of her behaviour

ETA another reason to report this to the higher-ups is, if she decides she was unfairly targeted (remember, it just has to makes sense to her, no one else) and is able to make a big enough stink and the higher-ups are blindsided by the social media backlash? You could find your self unemployed. ALWAYS CYA (cover your ass)

Over-Marionberry-686 − lol nope you’re not wrong. This falls under the category of f around and find out. The fact that she “didn’t think of the implications at the time” disqualifies her from any jobs with responsibility in my opinion. What possible reason would I hire someone who doesn’t think about repercussions?

Poppypie77 − Not wrong. She's now seeing the consequences of her actions. It's not right to photograph and post people for public judgement . She didn't know the circumstances of why you were dressed the way you were.

You could have spent all night up the hospital with a relative and just come home to get showered and changed for work. You could have been up all night with a sick child and just dashed to the shop for some medicine. We all have ourlou ge around casual comfortable clothes compared to our nice dressed or work clothes etc.

It doesnt tell you anything about that person or what theyre going through at that time. Yet she felt worthy enough to judge people on their clothing. If she feels it's acceptable to publicly post strangers and judge them, I wouldn't feel she's a good person to have in the company as she could do other derogatory things or post innapropriate stuff that would reflect badly on the company.

Many employees search applicants on social media for similar reasons to see the type of things they post and if they post controversial or r**ist things for eg. And they choose who to hire based on what they see of the person.

She's now learning that actionshave consequences, and funny how the person she judged poorly simply from a casual outfit dashing get milk is the person who is high up enough in a company to be doing the intake interviews. Teaches her a big lesson not to judge. But yeah, definitely not wrong. Just make sure to take screen shots of her post before she deletes it incase she wants to complain about it etc.

Slowly-Forward − Absolutely NOT wrong. She fucked around and found out.

genescheesesthatplz − NTA. You know her character and that it doesn't align with the type of person you are hiring. End of story.

Dry-Clock-1470 − Then your moron friends can hire her

These Redditors are all in, hailing the interviewer for delivering a real-world wake-up call while torching the candidate’s “didn’t think” excuse. Some urge saving evidence for HR; others cheer the poetic irony of consequences. The takes are sharp, slicing through online recklessness with fierce clarity. This saga’s a firestorm, proving actions online don’t vanish in the real world.

This interview showdown shows how digital missteps can haunt real-world chances. The interviewer’s swift call wasn’t just personal—it was a stand for respect. Would you have ended the interview or given her a chance? Drop your take below and let’s unravel this clash of privacy and payback!

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