A video of a maskless woman intentionally coughing on customers at a Super Saver grocery store in Lincoln, Nebraska, is being widely circulated on social media.
The original video was shared on Reddit last week along with the title, "Anti-Mask Karen Deliberately Coughing on me at South 27th Super Saver." The video quickly spread to other social media platforms, going viral on TikTok and Twitter, where a version shared by popular account Fifty Shades of Whey has been viewed more than 2 million times.
'I'm Not Sick and Neither Are You'
The Reddit user who goes by Jessabird detailed the events that led to her pull out her cellphone and start filming. She said she was at the store with her 13-year-old daughter when the maskless "Karen" approached them and confronted them for wearing masks, saying how "Nebraskans have turned into sheep."
Jessabird said the woman then proceeded to follow the mother and daughter around the store and when she asked her to maintain social distance, the woman started coughing on them intentionally.
In the video, the woman is seen coughing multiple times in the direction of the videographer. "Excuse me, I'm coming through," the woman is heard saying as she continues to cough at the mother and daughter. The woman then says, "Look at you guys, you're so cute. ... You're such sheep."
When a fellow shopper asks her why she wasn't wearing a mask, the woman replies by saying "Because I don't need to have one on. I'm not sick and neither are you." The woman then claims she has "allergies" when confronted about coughing at the shoppers. Watch the video below:
Who is Janene Hoskovec?
After the video went viral, Internet activist @thatdaneshguy didn't waste any time in identifying the "Karen" as Arizona resident Janene Hoskovec. According to her LinkedIn page, Hoskovec works for IT giant SAP as a Client Partner and is currently employed with the company's office in Tempe, Arizona.
SAP Releases Statement, Says Employee is Under Investigation
In the wake of the incident, SAP released a statement saying they were investigating the incident. "The health and safety of our employees and the communities in which we live and work are of utmost concern to us," the company tweeted. "We are taking the matter of an SAP employee incident very seriously and investigating the situation."
There is a mask mandate in place in Lancaster County, where Lincoln, Nebraska, is located and is set to continue until at least Sept. 30, 2021. Intentionally coughing on someone amid a pandemic has resulted in several people in other states being charged with various crimes such as making terroristic threats and harassment.
In April 2021, a Florida woman, Debra Hunter, was sentenced to 30 days in jail, ordered to pay a $500 fine and given six months of probation after she admitted to intentionally coughing on a cancer patient at a Pier 1 Imports store at a Jacksonville mall in June 2020, WJXT reported.
We have reached out to the Lincoln Police Department to confirm if any charges have been filed against Hoskovec and have received a response as of publishing.
