TikTokers are rushing to support a man who insisted a fellow train passenger move when she was sitting in his allocated seat: 'Sorry, I pay for my place'

• A TikToker filmed what appeared to be a confrontation with a train passenger sitting in his seat.
• He insisted she move, saying he had a right to his reservation, and received a wave of online support.

Thousands of comments showed their support for a TikToker who said he refused to let a passenger take a seat he had already paid for. The viral clip continued an ongoing discussion about travel etiquette and seat swapping on public transport.

On April 1, a TikToker who goes by @Mr_Boris_Becker posted a video filmed on what appeared to be a train where he could be heard telling a passenger she was sitting in his seat. As the TikToker filmed his perspective from the aisle of what appeared to be a busy carriage, the woman could be seen smiling and laughing before she suggested he look for another place to sit.

"It's gonna be difficult. My place is 103 and I need my place, I'm so sorry," the TikToker could be heard saying in the clip which received over 7 million views. The caption of the video read, "Sorry I pay for my place."

As the woman then stood up and collected her suitcase, another passenger several seats away appeared to criticize the TikToker for asking someone to move. The TikToker insisted once more it was his seat, and could be heard telling the bystander to "calm down."

The upload received over 6,000 comments, the vast majority of which appeared to side with the TikToker, as many applauded the way he stood up for himself.

"Obviously the train is full, so the man needs to get the spot he paid for," a top comment with over 20,000 likes read. Many more comments agreed the TikToker was entitled to a seat he had purchased, regardless of how many other people were in the carriage.

Further viewers wrote they couldn't believe the behavior of the woman who didn't immediately move seats when asked, and chastised the additional passenger who tried to pressure the TikToker into dropping the matter.

Viewers also stitched the video, adding their own commentary. One TikToker who goes by @zitingcool said she had a similar experience on a train where a passenger asked her to sit in a different seat to the one allocated to her so that she could sit with her child. After another passenger offered his seat to solve the dispute, she said the entire journey was "awkward" as she was facing the passenger who asked her to swap.

Conversations around etiquette on public transport are extremely common on TikTok, with seat switching in particular becoming a topic of strong contention.

On February 27, TikToker Audrey Peters received over 2.6 million views and an outpouring of support when she said she refused a family who asked her to move seats on a flight so they could sit together. On January 13, a fellow TikToker shared a two-part story that received a combined 5.7 million views, where she said she directly intervened when she overheard someone asking a passenger in her aisle to swap their seat for a downgraded area. She received a similar wave of support from viewers.

The debate surrounding public etiquette has recently spilled into other venues too, as viral videos of vocal concert goers have led to an online discussion of how to behave in a communal space around fellow fans.

@Mr_Boris_Becker has 862,000 followers on TikTok and 2.5 million followers on Instagram. He regularly posts dance videos and public pranks. He did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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