A video of a white woman confronting another woman in the gym has sparked online debate.
The viral video posted on TikTok by user Ms_ash_posh_omg shows a middle-aged white woman telling the woman behind the camera she has an issue with her laughter in the gym. The woman recording the video appears to be on a call when she is approached.
“Sweetheart, when you laugh like that, you scared—you made me jump out of my skin,” said the middle-aged woman, whom some are now calling Karen.
“I’m so sorry,” the woman behind the camera said. “Are you OK?”
“Yes, you scared the crap out of me,” the other woman said while holding her chest.
“I can’t hear you because I have my headphones in,” said the woman behind the camera.
The woman recording explains to the white woman that she didn’t notice that she “did anything” and that the room is empty, so there’s an echo, which may have caused her laughter to seem louder.
“I can’t help how I laugh. I am sorry,” the woman behind the camera said. “I didn’t mean anything behind it.”
The white woman then grabs her hat, keys and other belongings and starts to leave the gym.
“I am not complaining about how you laugh or the way you laugh or whatever but have consideration for other people,” the white woman said. “Respect, Honey. You’re in a gym.”
The woman recording then follows the other woman as she walks outside of what appears to be a housing complex.
“Stop because I am going to call the cops on you,” the white woman said.
“You’re very disrespectful, Sweetheart. Very disrespectful, and I am calling the police,” she added.
The video could not be found on TikTok as Aug. 22. News commentator Rashad Richey posted the video on his YouTube channel on Aug. 21 where it has been viewed nearly 200,000 times and garnered over 4,500 comments. Richey said the woman behind the camera is Black. It was also viewed nearly 18,000 times on Reddit and received over 2,000 comments.
Some commenters accused the white woman of overacting.
“The Black woman was way too apologetic,” wrote Jay Steve on YouTube.
“Karen was already nervous about being in a room alone with a Black person, which is why she is so jumpy to be scared by a laugh,” wrote YouTube user Joyfullydreaded.
Other commenters called for harsher penalties for frivolous calls to the police.
“If this Karen did call the police, the police need to give her a ticket or hold her accountable for calling them for a non-urgent matter, this is getting ridiculous & would stop once these IDIOTS are held accountable,” YouTube user CHNurseBSNRN 10-21 wrote.
Many commenters also criticized the woman recording the video for following “Karen.”
“I’m sorry. But the young lady with the camera should have just let go. She followed the lady instead of just letting it go. She made the situation worse than it should have been,” wrote YouTube user Gary Martin Live 2.0.
“She lost her moral high ground when she started following her. Let them be stupid, no need to be provocative like that,” wrote Reddit user Goldy2910.
However, some argued that she needed to follow the other woman to ensure that she did not make a misleading report to authorities.
“She was following her because she has no idea what Karen may spin alone with the police. What if she said she was assaulted by her, a lie, but this has been done before. Especially if the police roll their eyes about calling for this.”
