Last week, a father filmed another man confronting him at a gas station for taking his two young daughters into the women’s restroom.
The father, Tyler Brodsky, defended himself as the furious man called the police to report that he had entered the women’s restroom. The man argued that his wife had wanted to use the restroom but became upset after seeing Brodsky inside.
Zoe Lavely, the girls’ mother who described herself as their “custodial parent,” has since called out Brodsky in a scathing social media post, accusing him of “capitalizing” on their daughters and not caring about them as much as he claims.
Image credits: tylerbrodsky2/TikTok
The incident took place on June 16 when, during a road trip, Brodsky stopped at an Alabama QuikTrip gas station and accompanied his two girls into the women’s restroom.
In the caption of the clip, the father explained that the women’s restroom was empty when the three entered and that he would rather take his daughters there than into “a men’s bathroom full of grown men and dirty stalls.”
Image credits: tylerbrodsky2/TikTok
Brodsky’s TikTok video of the tense encounter, which ends with the irate customer calling the police, has amassed more than 28 million views in less than a week, with thousands of viewers expressing support for the father.
However, in a screenshot of a Facebook post shared by TMZ, Lavely accused her ex of allowing the girls to be “exploited” on the internet.
“I actually don’t love this outcome; as the mother of those two girls,” the mother wrote in the post, per TMZ.
Image credits: tylerbrodsky2/TikTok
“Even though their dad handled the situation well, what everyone doesn’t see is the fear a mother has seeing their kids exposed all over the media.”
In the video posted by Brodsky, both girls’ faces are visible. One of them, the younger of the two, is also seen crying as she watches the furious man berate her father.
“I see their dad approaching the man that scared my girls just for the video,” Lavely wrote in the post.
“I see my girls being capitalized for money. In fear. I see people offering money to a man that hasn’t paid 1 penny to those girls just this year,” she added.
Image credits: tylerbrodsky2/TikTok
After his video went viral, Brodsky created a GoFundMe page to raise $3,000 for himself and Melissa, the store manager who defended the family from the customer.
“Seeing my girls exploited all over the internet has been so heartbreaking. And seeing their dad capitalizing off this situation makes my heart break for all the people that have been sending money,” Lavely wrote.
“Nor do I think ‘I deserve any money’ and nor do I want any clout. I just simply fear for the safety of my girls. I can’t fathom as a mother seeing my girls all over social media all around the world.”
Image credits: tylerbrodsky2/TikTok
Lavely acknowledged that the video highlights a common issue faced by many single parents when their children need to use a public restroom, but said she has “mixed feelings” about the situation.
Despite believing the conversation about public restrooms and single parents is important, Lavely opposes exposing her two young daughters and risking their safety.
“Every girl dad should feel welcomed to take their daughter(s) in a safe, clean, private bathroom,” she wrote. “Family shared bathrooms need to be more accessible for these reasons. I’ll never take away from that. My dad was a single father to me and faced the same battles.”
However, every time she goes on her phone, she sees her “3-year-old daughter in tears,” which “destroys me every single time.”
“As the custodial parent I’d never blast my children on social media. I’ll mention again, this NEEDS to be a talked about situation,” Lavely concluded.
“But it could have been a simple video explaining the situation without my kids’ faces all over the place. It could have been an audio recording. This has been so overwhelming and so heartbreaking.”
Image credits: Zoe Lavely/Facebook
Brodsky responded to Lavely’s allegations against him in a statement to TMZ, calling them “not accurate.”
“I’m not going to get into a public back-and-forth with the mother of my children,” the father told the outlet.
“My focus has always been, and will continue to be, our daughters. As for the financial accusations, those are simply not accurate. I’m not going to discuss private family matters publicly because my daughters deserve better than that.”
Image credits: tylerbrodsky2/TikTok
In a follow-up video, Brodsky revealed that police arrived five minutes after the aggressive customer, who has been labeled a “male Karen” online, called 911.
The dad of two praised the officers for quickly “de-escalating” the situation and telling the man to leave the store.
Brodsky denied Lavely’s claims after posting a follow-up video about the incident
“One of the officers was talking to me and explained that the situation wasn’t as black-and-white as many people may think,” he said.
“They pointed out that taking two little girls into the men’s restroom could be viewed just as negatively as me being in the women’s restroom with my girls.”
He also praised Melissa, the store manager, for stepping in to support his daughters and checking on how they were doing.
According to a People magazine report, the man who berated Brodsky has been fired from the Mississippi-based real estate company he worked for following the incident.
Overstreet Properties stated on Instagram that the man’s behavior doesn’t “reflect the values” of the real estate company.
Image credits: Tyler Brodsky/Facebook
In addition to the GoFundMe page, Brodsky has also launched a petition calling for family restrooms to be required in public places, where fathers could take their daughters and mothers could take their sons.
The father noted that family restrooms would also benefit people with disabilities who rely on a caregiver and grandparents caring for their grandchildren.
“While many businesses have made great strides by adding family restrooms, countless public places still do not offer this option,” he wrote. “Families are often left with impossible choices that can lead to uncomfortable, stressful, and sometimes unsafe situations.”
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