A New York subway rider is going viral after a TikToker accused her of breaking his Meta AI glasses, a moment that instantly made her a folk hero among privacy-conscious internet users.
The eyewear, which can discreetly record video, has been criticized as a creeping surveillance threat. Many online viewers argued that the woman simply did what others have only joked about doing.
While the TikToker insists the incident was unprovoked and filed a police report, the internet has already taken her side, celebrating her as the anti-AI vigilante of their dreams.
Get insurance for your Meta glasses
@eth8n_____ Help me find Karen – 77th and lex train stop #karen #fyp #viral #assault #subway ♬ original sound – eth8n_____
TikToker Ethan (@eth8n_____) first posted footage of the woman he accused of breaking his glasses on Oct. 9, gaining over two million views. The clip shows Ethan holding the two pieces of his AI eyewear in his hands and saying something about getting insurance while onlookers laugh. It’s unclear if had insured the glasses, but if not, he’s out $300.
In the description on another video, he claims he did nothing to provoke this woman.
“She was like 12 feet away from me and I wasn’t addressing her, I was just making sounds that I and others thought was hilarious for a video to post,” he wrote. “There were so many different routes one could take instead of breaking someone else’s $300 glasses such as asking nicely to not post it or blur my face.”
@eth8n_____ Story time so nobody assumes: The video has gone off the rails lmao I responded to like three comments before it took off and explained everything. She was dead so far away from me when I was filming standing towards the cart door. I was making a funny noise people were honestly crying laughing at. She was the only person annoyed. I never spoke to her, I even let her sit down when she got on the train at 42nd street and I continued to stand. She was like 12 feet away from me and I wasn’t addressing her, I was just making sounds that I and others thought was hilarious for a video to post. There were so many different routes one could take instead of breaking someone else’s $300 glasses such as asking nicely to not post it or blur my face. What she did was assault, can get arrested for it if I see her again and felt like it. I filed a claim with the police and it’s a misdemeanor charge. But I think it’s hilarious how the video is going crazy and continuously climbing, people’s opinions don’t bother me, I’m not that type of person. But by all means, if you’re gonna engage in conversation on the post, feel free to tell them this. Hope you’ve had a great day as well whoever you are and tomorrow is even brighter 🤟🏼
♬ original sound – eth8n_____
“What she did was assault, can get arrested for it if I see her again and felt like it. I filed a claim with the police and it’s a misdemeanor charge.”
Both videos ask viewers for help finding the alleged glasses breaker, but there have been no updates indicating that he’s located her. He was, however, correct when he said she would be internet famous.
Why do people hate Meta glasses?
Even before the addition of AI, many expressed concerns around all the ways people could use Meta glasses and similar technology to be creeps. Users can subtly record video with them, which is already a problem with smart phones everywhere.
Meta tried adding an indicator light to address the issue, but people are already selling stickers on TikTok to block that out. In 2024, two Harvard students showed how they used additional software to scrape data about anyone in view of the glasses, including names, phone numbers, addresses, and the identities of their relatives.
You could say that we’re living in a stalker’s paradise.
@eth8n_____ Rip to the internet – I did nothing wrong #fyp #viral #explore #train #assault ♬ slide – Eth8n
These reasons and more might explain why the Meta eyewear mourner posted a video just to react to “everyone siding with the crazy woman who broke my glasses.”
“Imagine being this based”
By late November, the legend of the Meta glasses slayer had reached X. In spite of certain staunch AI defenders on the platform, the reactions to this woman were overwhelmingly positive.
It definitely has something to do with the extremely cool aura she exudes every moment she’s on camera.
“She’s perfect,” said @9mmsmg. “I hope she called him a dork for wearing them before she broke them.”
“This is the most beautiful, powerful woman I’ve ever seen, she will lead millions in the Butlerian Jihad,” gushed @hollowearthterf.
“Imagine being this based, gorgeous, tall and cool,” wrote @joana_alt.
“Hard to say who was in the right here, but her aura certainly says she is,” @hughfuckinglass pointed out.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @eth8n_____ for comment via TikTok.
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