MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: A 68-year-old NYC woman was pepper sprayed in the face and derided as a “Karen” after confronting a group of young women, who jumped over the turnstiles at a Manhattan subway station. The incident took place at around 3 pm on Monday, July 17, when the victim was standing on the downtown 1 Train platform at the 66th Street-Lincoln Center station on the Upper West Side.
While waiting at the platform, the elderly woman noticed the fare dodgers skipping the turnstiles and decided to reprimand them. That’s when the attacker, who wasn’t part of the group of young women, stepped in, police said in a statement on Tuesday, July 18. “Mind your own business, Karen,” the heavy-set woman seethed before discharging the pepper spray. Just before the attack, the victim was able to take a picture of her accused attacker holding the spray bottle. The victim, who lives in Manhattan, went home and reported the incident to police about four hours later. She did not require medical treatment, NY Post reported.
Who is NYC Subway 'Karen'?
Authorities have yet not revealed any specific information about the victim, who was mocked as ‘Karen’ by the attacker. However, they have released the picture of the attacker, who was last seen wearing a black T-shirt that read “Sold Out,” black leggings, and sneakers. She’s described as being in her 20s, standing approximately 5 feet, 4 inches tall with a heavy build, according to cops. Authorities are requesting anybody with information on the suspect in the incident from Monday to contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
In recent years, the term "Karen" has become a pejorative used to signify a prejudiced White woman, who goes out of her way to harrass people of color. The term exploded into the public’s consciousness in 2020 when Amy Cooper was nicknamed the “Central Park Karen” for calling the cops on a black birdwatcher, Christian Cooper, who had asked her to put her dog on a leash as per the park's rules. This latest incident involving the elderly NYC woman came just a few days after a Colorado woman was criticized as the "Poolside Karen" for launching a racist tirade against a Latino family.
'I’m not a racist'
'Poolside Karen', whose real name is Blair Featherman, was the subject of a viral TikTok, posted by hairdresser Jada Gallardo, showed her hurling racist slurs at a group of people relaxing by the pool at the Alta Green Mountain apartment block in Lakewood, Colorado. In the video, she was heard calling the family “trash” and “low class” for having a pool party on the Fourth of July.
However, Featherman later claimed that the now-viral video, which has since garnered more than a million views, was edited to portray her as the villain. “I have been trying to stay silent and not comment about this, but there are things the video doesn’t show,” she told the Daily Mail, adding, “I’m not a racist. It was deceptively edited and put together to tell a narrative that isn’t true."
