Waitress responds to getting groped by a customer in the best way possible

Waitress and college student Emelia Holden was simply doing her job when a male customer groped her.

CCTV footage shows Ryan Cherwinski squeezing the 21-year-old’s bottom as he walked past her while she was shuffling menus at the Vinnie Van Go-Go’s pizzeria in Georgia, USA.

However, it quickly becomes clear he chose the wrong waitress to target.

Holden quickly whips around and grabs the offender by the scruff of the shirt, putting him in a head lock and throwing him to the ground.

The waitress can then be seen pointing her finger at him and berating him.

Holden later told People magazine she told the man: “You don’t touch me, motherf-----!”

After the tirade, she told a co-worker to call the police.

With the footage going viral, the Vinnie Van Go-Go’s pizzeria soon became America’s most-talked about location.

“I honestly didn’t even give it much thought,” Holden told Inside Edition.

“I didn’t even know I could do that.

“I didn’t even realise that I took him down the way I did until I saw the video afterwards.”

At first, Holden figured it was a friend joking with her because “his hand went further than it should have”, she told People, so she thought it couldn’t be a stranger.

To make matters worse, once police arrived at the scene Cherwinski maintained he was simply moving Holden out of the way and that he barely touched her.

But once police reviewed the CCTV footage, it was clear that wasn’t the case.

Cherwinski, 31, spent two nights in jail and was released after posting bail.

According to the Daily Mail, the Palm Bay, Florida resident was dining with his long-term girlfriend the night the incident occurred. The outlet also reported the couple have two infant twin daughters.

He was reportedly charged with sexual battery.

While Holden is certainly not pleased about what happened to her, she hopes the footage, which has gained tens of thousands of views on Youtube, can inspire other women.

“I’m glad that other women can see this and know that you can stand up for yourself. You also have the right to wear whatever you want without having to worry about being groped,” she told People.

“It’s nice to know that I have empowered other women.”