'It's above me now': Hotel worker becomes viral legend

A hotel worker's calm response to a guest who called him a racial slur has the internet cheering for him.

Craig Brooks, 26, who works at a Holiday Inn Express hotel, recorded his encounter with a woman at the chain in Austin, Texas, after hearing her call him the N-word over the phone, Business Insider reported.

In a viral video posted to Twitter (WARNING: Offensive language), Mr Brooks politely told the woman when she arrived the hotel could no longer accommodate her.

"I need to stay here, my mother died," the woman can be heard saying.

Mr Brooks responded saying, "I understand that, but you called me [a racial slur]"

When she coughs up an apology, Mr Brooks doesn't budge, telling her: "No, you weren't sorry when you said it on the phone."

Throughout the exchange, he repeatedly can be heard telling the woman, "It's above me now."

The line swiftly took off on social media as users, including the actress Gabrielle Union, hashtagged #ItsAboveMeNow to applaud Mr Brooks' handling of the situation.

"Whewwwww … When those consequences kicked IN … #ItsAboveMe …," Union wrote in a tweet.

His video has since been viewed more than 9.5 million times on Twitter.

Mr Brooks referred to his own response as a "classy clapback" and advised others who are confronted with racism to do the same.

"Being that I'm black in today's society, we have to know how to deal with racism and combative white people, so we have to look at alternative ways to handle situations instead of being aggressive because they already see us that way," Mr Brooks told Business Insider. "I look at it like it's above me: You're mad and I'm too good for that. That's how I'm seeing it and how a lot of people are taking it."

Meanwhile, a meme was born.

Me: * tells my mom about a falling out with a friend*

Friend: I’m sorry for everything can we look past this.

Me: #ItsAboveMe pic.twitter.com/qME3OQ1Ccz

— MATTHEW PETERSON (@IAMMVTT) June 3, 2019

Ex: "i don't understand why we can't try again. I said im sorry"

Me: #ItsAboveMe pic.twitter.com/Qy2UVYEybr

— simmer down 🌺 (@Music_LessThan3) June 3, 2019