The BookTok community rallied around a TikToker who said she was mocked for filming in a store

• A TikToker said she was mocked while she filmed in the book aisle of a store.
• The video blew up with over 9.1 million views and 15,600 comments.
• The BookTok community responded en masse and encouraged the TikToker to keep making videos.

A community of avid readers came to the support of a TikToker after she said two girls mocked her appearance while she filmed in the book aisle of a store. 

On June 25, a TikToker who goes by @readers.archive posted a video that showed her standing in front of a shelving unit full of books looking upset, before she walked out of frame. In an on-screen caption, she wrote that she'd left after two girls had laughed at her, commented on how "tired" she looked, called her outfit "ratty," and said it was "silly" she was filming.

In the caption alongside the video, the TikToker tagged the retail store Target and thanked their "amazing employee" who she wrote went into the aisle and retrieved both her basket and her phone after the incident. Target did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The upload was viewed over 9 million times, and received over 15,600 comments, many of which came from members of the BookTok community, a corner of TikTok where avid readers post videos about their favorite novels, who came out in overwhelming support for the TikToker. 

While some questioned whether the event actually took place, as no other girls could be seen in the upload, the experience appeared to resonate with some viewers — a popular comment read, "I swear people are most judgmental in the book aisle," and received over 38,400 likes.

Others reassured and complimented the TikToker about her appearance, and told her to ignore any mean comments from strangers while she pursued her passion.

"That is awful, I am so sorry don't let anyone stop you from doing something that makes you happy. You are stunning!! Sending virtual hug," one viewer wrote in a popular comment that received over 1,650 likes.

Multiple commenters even offered to go book browsing with the TikToker in person, and reminded her there were far more BookTokers online interested in her videos than people in the store who may be confused or unkind about the fact she was filming.

After the video went viral, TikToker @readers.archive, who has over 34,200 followers on the app, continued to post book-themed uploads, which included a follow-up video in which they said they'd helped a grandma pick out some books, and a mini vlog filmed in another book store.

After initially responding to Insider's request for comment they did not respond to Insider's questions.

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