A store employee has gone viral for their response to a customer who attempted to shame him after secretly taking his photo.
Over the weeked, someone snapped a photo of David Layne loading shopping into the trunk of a car.
Layne wears a high-vis vest, make-up and has what’s known as a “skullet” hairstyle.
“What in the Great Value is goin on here? 
” captioned the woman who shared the photo on the Walmart channel on Threads.
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The photo prompted over 12k comments. Thankfully, many criticized the woman for posting the photo.
“Why are you taking pictures of strangers and posting them online, it’s rude and creepy,” said one person, earning over 12k likes.
“His hair? Iconic. His makeup? Iconic. The hair flip? Iconic. Walmart needs this energy,” said another.
The employee speaks out
The photo eventually reached the person featured in the image. His name is David Layne, and he’s a Walmart employee and part-time artist (@beyond_redemption).
Layne told Queerty he is a gay, agender demiboy who uses he/it pronouns.
Layne replied directly to the account that posted his photo.
“Hi so what the actual f*ck is your problem? This is me in the photo. Do you think its normal to take pictures of stangers simply doing their job? Im trying to support myself and live authentically at the same time. Im reporting you and taking this to management tomorrow.”
Layne’s reply received over 120k likes. Layne went on to thank people for their support.
“Hi everyone! Thank you all for being so sweet and supportive. Its my second week with walmart, and this is a photo of me dispensing an order 
Im making sure to report this person and Im taking this post to management tomorrow. Luckily most people have been very nice about my appearance, I also think its super funny she got such an awesome pic of me and is trying to shame me with it lol. I also want to say I use he/him pronouns too!”
“It did upset me”
Queerty reached out to Layne for further comment. He says a friend initially alerted him to the secretly-snapped photo.
“One of my good friends sent it to me; I didn’t even have Threads! I was out working on a rainy day, and I was dispensing an order. I had the worst day too; I had lost the stone in my engagement ring and got sick while working because of my POTS [postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome] and chronic pain. Then I came home, and she texted me the post. After the day I had, it did upset me, but seeing all the positive comments before I even gave my response lifted my spirits.
“Then, after I left my response and got so much support, I actually felt hope for humanity. Everyone stepping in and defending me shows me that we’re healing as a society, and it’s amazing.”
And his employer has been supportive?
“Luckily my job has been amazing,” he said. “I came in the next day and went to one of my managers, and he took it extremely seriously. We went to the store coach and got everything documented and submitted a report with corporate higher-ups.
“I can’t give too many details, because we’re still working on the investigation, but they have been so supportive of me. My coworkers are awesome too, and I can tell they care about me through all this. And I care about them!”
“I love looking alien”
What did he make of the response online?
“I was shocked and amazed at how supportive everyone has been. When I originally was thinking about changing my look, my dad was worried something like this would happen, and while it did, it’s OK! I’ve gotten a few people who are harassing me, telling me I’m stupid, my art is bad, that I’m mentally ill. But overall, people have loved my style and my work.
“I love looking alien; I’ve always wanted to look like one from a Tool music video, or a Cenobite from Hellraiser, so it’s amazing to see everyone else digging my style. I’ve hidden who I am for years. I’ve tried to emulate my favorite singer, Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode, for so long. He’s awesome, but that wasn’t me. I’m not him. I was talking to a friend of mine who’s NB [non-binary] and alternative, and when I was expressing my worries about looking how I actually want to look, they told me, ‘What’s stopping you?’ It changed my whole perception of everything.”
“I feel super comfortable expressing myself at this job”
Has Layne experienced negative reactions to his style before?
“I’ve had negative reactions in the past, but never like this. I only recently shaved my eyebrows and gave myself my skullet.”
Layne says he gets “weird looks in public, but nothing this extreme has happened.
“I used to get dress-coded a lot at work, for things other people did, and for my shoulder tattoo (it’s a hammer and sickle). I worked at The Gap for a while on and off, but … nothing I wore was appropriate, and I was pulled into the office and reprimanded for how I dressed, despite the fact that I was covered and wearing work-appropriate clothes.
“I’ve also been catcalled, called a drag queen (like it’s an insult?), and I get a lot of creepy men harassing me, too. Walmart has been amazing about the dress code and actually encourages people to look different and express themselves. I see a lot of alternative people working with me and around the store, so I feel super comfortable expressing myself at this job. Even with the weird looks, I’ll never stop being myself. I can’t.”
Layne also said he’s grateful for the support of those close to him.
“I wanna thank my dad, fiancé, and good friends Lily, Sage, LJ, Malakai and Jack, for always being there to defend me, and encouraging me to be myself. Thank you for making my life worth living.”
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