The term "Karen" is a moniker used to describe a middle-aged white woman who throws a tantrum and comes up with a sob story to get what she wants, or someone acting rudely or in an entitled fashion. A Trader Joe's outlet in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, had an encounter with one such "Karen" on the opening day of its store on Friday and the incident is now being widely circulated on social media.
A Twitter user named D. Giles shared a series of clips of the woman's meltdown inside the outlet. The first clip shows a middle-aged woman shopping at the outlet and arguing with employees inside the store. "Y'all, Karen is showing out at Trader Joe's," says a man in the video before explaining that the woman entered the store without a mask on, as required by state laws, and threw a fit when she was asked to leave the grocery store.
'I Have a Breathing Problem'
The woman then slams her basket on the ground as she storms off before calling one of the employees a "democratic b---h." She then turned her attention towards customers waiting in line to checkout. "That man harassed me for not wearing a mask," she yells before saying that she has a breathing problem and that her doctor would not allow her to wear a mask. "Anyone harassing me to wear a mask, you guys are violating federal laws, you get that? Get that on camera," she adds.
The woman is then escorted out of the store by employees. Although Trader Joe's "strongly encourages" customers to don face masks, Los Angeles County officials have made it mandatory for residents to wear face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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This isn't the first time a "Karen" has been booted from a Trader Joe's in Los Angeles for not wearing a mask. Last month, a woman named Genevieve Peters filmed herself being denied entry into a Trader Joe's because she was "uncomfortable" wearing a mask. A week after the incident Peters posted another video in which she said she had started experiencing a sore throat, one of the symptoms of coronavirus infection.
