If someone is blowing something at you in the NYC subway system, it’s usually not a kiss.
But Tamia Jones recently went viral for her TikTok video in which she kisses unsuspecting male straphangers – with the aim of bringing “love and positivity” to others. ugly, crime-ridden undergroundHe said.
“I’ve heard about all the bad things that happen on trains, so I just wanted to get myself through it by spreading love,” Jones, 25, told The Post between air kisses at the 50th Street B/D/F/M station Was.” This week.
“there is Shooting and stabbing in trainsSo I wanted to bring smiles to people’s faces and let them know that kindness and love is always the answer – not violence,” she said.
Jones, a lifelong Bronxite, recorded her hilarious reactions to her encounters with a friend for the first time earlier this month, and posted a video of the underground shtick on TikTok.
Almost overnight, the clip received millions of views.
“I was very proud. I was like ‘yes’…people were coming up to me and saying such nice things,” she said, reminiscing about the viral moment.
However, “I also get a lot of creepy people who say, ‘Where’s my kiss?’ Where is my kiss?’ In my messages,'” said Jones, who works as an outreach case manager for the social services nonprofit Breaking Ground.
So far, she said, she has only tried to do this on men, “because I don’t want women to get the wrong idea.”
Since the first TikTok video on November 4, Jones has continued to kiss random men from the platform while the train is moving – and has received nearly seven million views across the seven videos she’s posted.
While some are seen smiling, waving and even blowing kisses in response, others pretend not to notice – in typical tired-New Yorker fashion.
She said with a shrug, “A lot of people will just look away – I don’t really care, because the train has gone and I’ll never see them again.”
Jones – who has witnessed homeless men masturbating on the subway and who recently had racial comments made against her – takes extra precautions to keep herself safe.
“I wait until the train doors close before knocking on the window and kissing. I don’t want to give anyone the opportunity to hurt me – you never know with people,” she explained.
“I like to think that it makes someone’s day. You know, people usually look very sad on the train. People are just down there. But if I can put a smile on someone’s face, it doesn’t hurt,” Jones said.
Worn-out straphangers – more accustomed to dodging unruly vagrants or dope-puffing junkies – saluted the “sweet” stunt.
“I think some people probably find it weird, but overall it’s really cool. It’s a good effort, and it’s important that she’s doing this for the people here,” Anushka, a 33-year-old woman from Williamsburg, told The Post.
Ashon Mack, a security guard in Harlem, agreed, saying, “Traveling on the subway is a stressful thing, and if someone is showing you a little love, it means a lot.”
“I will attack him directly. If a pretty girl is showing me love, I show it back right back,” said Mac, 34.
“I think it’s wonderful – more people should do this,” said visitor Jonathan Smith, 40, from Amsterdam.
