A TikTok of a woman, dubbed a “Karen,” suddenly crying in the middle of a confrontation with a Black driver and his friends has sparked debate on the app, with many questioning whether or not the woman was “playing the victim” and weaponizing “white woman tears.”
The confrontation, which has over 127,000 views at the time of writing, was posted on April 4 and captioned, “She went from 100-0 real quick.” The user (@infinitydaqueen941) tagged the video #respectblackwomen.
In the clip, the “Karen” can be heard berating the group for “leaving trash laying around”, which they denied.
She then repeatedly asked for their names and said, “Why don’t you give me your address, and I’ll come sit my car over there at your house and see how you like it?”
Thinking the passengers were taking photos of her, woman then waved her phone camera, which had flash on, inside the car, saying “Y’all want to go take some pictures? I’ll take some pictures.”
The man in the driver’s seat asked the “Karen” not to do that, as a woman in the passenger seat said in response, “Baby, it’s a video.”
“Why are you harassing us though?” the woman asked. “Because I’m sick of y’all, over here on my street,” the “Karen” said in response. “I’ve been walking around here, finding trash all over the place and I’m picking up.”
The man in the front seat then explained to the woman that he and his friends were watching the sunset. He also told her that he and his friends weren’t responsible for the trash the woman says she found.
“You better turn that video off,” the “Karen” said, pointing at the camera. “I work in a law firm.”
As she lambasted the group for purportedly using inappropriate language in her presence, one of the women off-screen can be heard saying, “If you want to be respected, you have give respect. I don’t respect people who disrespect me. The way you came at us was disrespectful.”
At this point, the “Karen” apologized, saying she didn’t mean to be disrespectful. “You know what? You’re absolutely right, I’m really sorry,” she added. She then seemed to start crying, telling the group that she often sees people doing drugs in the area and thought their car was related to these activities.
The video ended with the white woman, still apparently crying, saying: “I don’t mean any offense to you. It’s just very upsetting because I live in this neighborhood and I’ve been seeing these same cars sitting in parking and its very upsetting to me because my son rides his bike around here.”
In response, the group forgave the woman.
Commenters were full of praise for the group and how they handled the situation. “Coming from a mom with a 18 year old, I’m super proud of all of you guys and the way you handled this situation,” one comment read.
“You handled that situation with SO MUCH restraint. But still stood up for yourselves,” another read. “So impressed.”
Other TikTok commenters lambasted the “Karen” for her “white woman tears,” with one commenter writing, “The victim card is always at the top of the deck.”
Several of the comments also speculated on how genuine the “Karen’s” apology actually was. “She only changed her tune when she realized it was video,” one commenter said. “She slowly rethought the consequences.”
Another added that it “sounds like it finally clicked [for her] that it was going viral.” Musician Terilisha, who appeared in season 2 of The Circle, also commented on the video, saying, “Save those tears for your law firm’s HR.”
The user did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via Instagram direct message.
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