Photo: Peter Dazeley (Getty Images)
One of the biggest trending topics on Twitter this year has been #KarensGoneWild. There’s even a Twitter account with more than 37,000 followers to document the phenomenon that is “Karen.” If you’re unaware of what a Karen is, you’ve probably been staying off social media for the last few years (probably for a good reason). A Karen is a white woman (usually middle-aged, but not always) who creates tension or drama for no reason. This includes demanding a manager when they’re totally in the wrong, pretending to be a victim when they are in fact the aggressor, and many incidents involving an unwarranted call to the police.
To document a year full of Karens, we’ve compiled a list of the best (worst) Karens of the year so far. Check them all out below and watch out for Karens. They’re everywhere.
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Ranked! Karens Gone Wild
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10. Face Mask Karen
Back in May, a woman went viral for crying on camera because she couldn’t handle the thought of not seeing people's faces (because they’re masked) and hugging babies during the pandemic. Yeah, that’s a reason not to stay safe and healthy.
Photo: Twitter.com/BrianTylerCohen
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9. Collision Karen
A Karen in a Gelson’s parking lot in Santa Barbara, California called 911 on a Latin man after she hit his car and then he asked for her insurance information. She refused to give him her insurance information because she claimed that she didn’t like the way he looked and feared for her safety. Way to go, Karen.
Photo: Instagram.com/KarensGoneWilds
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8. Starbucks Karen
A Karen in San Diego posted her own video were she ranted about a barista refusing to serve her at a local Starbucks unless she put on a mask. She threatened to call the police on the barista. Well, she proved that being a Karen doesn’t pay because someone who felt bad about the mistreatment of the barista started a GoFundMe page that raised over $100,000 dollars.
Photo: GoFundMe
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7. Anti-Asian Karen
Most Karens are only caught acting like fools once, but this Karen was caught on video multiple times. Torrance, California’s Lena Hernandez was filmed various times yelling racist comments at Asian people in public proving Karens just don’t understand social media.
Photo: Twitter.com/rmtennel
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6. Black Lives Matter Karen
In early June, a Karen named Lisa Alexander took issue with a black man named James Juanillo who had stenciled “Black Lives Matter” in chalk outside of his home. At one point she even claimed to “know the homeowner” not even realizing that Juanillo was the owner.
Photo: Twitter.com/jaimetoons
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5. Farmers Market Karen
In early June, Gail Hayden, who runs the California Farmers Market Association, was forced to resign after a video began circulating of her berating a man for handing out miniature LGBTQ rainbow flags. Talk about being on the wrong side of history, Karen.
Photo: Twitter.com/Karli_harward
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4. Coughing Karen
A fair amount of the 2020 Karen action centered around the wearing of masks. A few months ago, Allison Goodbaum made a New York City Karen famous by putting a video on her social media showing the woman screaming and intentionally coughing on her when she asked her to put on a mask in a bagel shop.
Photo: Twitter/com/Semperdiced
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3. Central Park Karen
Amy Cooper went viral when she called the police on a black bird-watcher named Christian Cooper because he asked her to leash her dog. She told the police that he was threatening her all while she was strangling her own dog.
Photo: Twitter.com/MelodyMCooper
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2. Hammer Time Karen
It seems like the epicenter of Karen action is California. June saw an epic Karen meltdown video. A woman in Los Angeles smashed a neighbor’s car with hammers while screaming racial insults and telling them to “go back to Mexico.” This is pretty much the highest level of Karen possible.
Photo: Twitter.com/SUPERDUPEREDY
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1. Zombie Karen
A Karen in Louisiana refused to put on a mask before entering a restaurant. Because of this, she was denied entry. She didn’t take it well. In shades of The Walking Dead, she was filmed ramming her head into the glass door and licking the windows before finally being arrested.
Photo: Twiter.com/sreed101
