Man’s praised over good deed calling out ‘rude’ gesture

A man who called out a woman for making a lewd gesture at his friend has revealed the response after he posted what happened on social media.

A man who called out a woman for making a lewd gesture at his friend has revealed the response after he posted what happened on social media.

Bernie had just finished a run and was meeting a friend, who had come from her own workout and as such was was wearing athletic shorts that he said weren’t “overly revealing”.

The pair had been to Coles when a car drove past them, and made a vomiting gesture directed at Bernie’s friend, and then proceeded to drive off.

“She loudly went, ‘ew, ew’,” Bernie told news.com.au, in addition to the rude hand gesture.

A few weeks before, Bernie’s friend had been ridiculed about her body after she shared a handful of photos online.

“It was really bad, it was horrible. And this was two weeks later. My first instinct was to turn to her, ask her to hold the bags and tell her I would be right back.”

Bernie confronted a woman who made a rude comment to his friend. Picture: TikTok/@roadbern

Bernie, who was in Bondi at the time, then decided to see if he could find the car to call the woman out on her poor behaviour, stating he wanted to use his “male privilege” for good.

“I looked at the end of the street, and there car was turning onto a No Through Road. I walked over as they were parking,” he said.

Bernie said he “couldn’t stress enough” how polite he was to couple in the car, saying all he wanted to do was remind them that actions had consequences on others.

“I asked what it was about, and she was immediately like ‘I am so sorry’,” he said.

“I said it was alright but I just wanted her to tell me what was happening.”

It all had to do with what the woman was wearing, with the culprit behind the rude gesture saying she was “sick and tired of girls with these shorts up their ass”.

He said the woman’s male companion tried to get involved, but when he realised what she had done he stepped back and let the interaction unfold, labelling the woman’s actions “embarrassing”.

“I said, it’s the 21st century. Why do you care what people are wearing? She said, ‘I know, but I don’t think it’s right’,” he recalled.

“It was actually a good conversation. I explained to her the other situation, and how what she did was going to make my friend feel horrible.”

He mimicked the gesture. Picture: TikTok/@roadbern

Immediately after the interaction, Bernie filmed a video, later sharing it to TikTok where it garnered a lot of attention.

However, he wasn’t prepared for some to turn it back on him.

“You followed her home? That’s creepier than her making that face at you,” one person commented.

Another said: “Do you do the same 21st century reaction when men are cat calling women?”

“21st century while you use condescending misogyny to address women. Not surprising a progressive man is a self serving hypocrite,” one added.

But others were incredibly supportive of Bernie’s actions, with one even saying “not all heroes wear capes”.

One social media user said: “Nice work! seriously, why do people care so much about what other people wear!!!”

“Yess dude! Time to take responsibility for your actions,” one added.

One person said: “Yes, good on you!!!! People need to be held accountable! Full respect.”

He said he didn't position himself as a 'warrior for women'. Picture: Instagram/@berniemor

Bernie, an expat from Portugal, said the majority of responses were positive, while others focused on the fact he called her “doll” in the video.

“English isn’t my first language, I’ve learned from the people around me in the last five years that the people around me would use “doll” in a lovely way,” he said.

“Yes, it might come across as condescending but, to be honest, after making such a nasty comment if I’m a bit condescending it’s not the worst thing in the world.”

He said the actual interaction with the other duo was fruitful, and the woman would likely think twice before doing something like that again.

“There are always people who are going to react negatively, even if you have good intentions. I’m not saying I am a ‘warrior for woman’s rights’ and done nothing wrong by a woman ever,” he said.

“But it was my friend and someone was being nasty towards her. At the very least, this lady will think twice about it.”

He said people should only call out poor behaviour when it’s safe to do so, but also added it wasn’t always easy to do. He said in this instance he knew there was no threat to his safety.

Originally published as Man’s praised over good deed calling out ‘rude’ gesture