Buckle up for a wild ride through the most outrageous moments of entitlement! We're diving into the most infamous Karen incidents that led to instant career destruction. From racist rants to public meltdowns, these are the moments that prove karma is real and consequences are swift.
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00:00You're only making it more difficult for yourself. I'm filing a civil lawsuit.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most infamous times the
00:10rudest, most entitled people, better known as Karens, caused havoc and destroyed their
00:15reputations and jobs in the process. It fueled already heightened racial
00:20tensions in the U.S. and would end with Cooper losing her job and facing charges herself.
00:2520. Coughing Karen
00:30The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in to reduce exposure was a wild time for Karen content.
00:37In 2021, a mother and her child were at a Super Saver store in Lincoln, Nebraska.
00:42A woman caught on camera coughing at customers at a grocery store.
00:47Before anybody started talking about COVID,
00:50you were okay with that though, going out not knowing you were sick.
00:53Instead of having a calm time getting groceries,
00:56they met Janine Hoskovec. With the family trying to keep their distance,
01:00Hoskovec decided to cough at them with a smug smile and then patronizingly called them
01:06cute. When she was called out for coughing, she claimed it was allergies.
01:12Hoskovec mocked the family and others for donning masks by calling them
01:16sheep and denying COVID-19's existence. When Hoskovec's employer, the software company SAP,
01:23saw the video, they fired her after a brief investigation.
01:26Internet investigators also identifying Hoskovec's employer as SAP, which confirmed
01:32it was investigating the situation, later tweeting she no longer works there.
01:3619. Halifax Karen
01:39In early January, many people contemplate their choices and try to make life changes
01:45following the holidays. However, Justine Morrison had something else in mind in 2023.
01:52While at the Vine Bar in Halifax, England, she and her husband were kicked out after making a
01:56scene inside, despite getting numerous warnings from the doorman, Dolly Wiley. Eventually,
02:02he booted them from the building. However, Morrison wasn't done. She belittled Wiley's
02:08job and spat, you black man, as if that was something he should be ashamed of. For her
02:13racist abuse, she was arrested and later given a police caution. On top of that, Morrison was
02:20banned from the bar and lost her job as a part-time accountant for a local theatre group.
02:2618. Acting Bigot
02:29In 2019, Sayi Omuba was set to star as Celie in a UK stage production of The Colour Purple.
02:37However, fellow actor Erin Lee Lambert, who wasn't in the play, shared a homophobic Facebook
02:53post from Omuba in 2014 that used religion to justify her problematic views. What made this
03:01worse was that Omuba denied Celie is a lesbian despite the character being in a same-sex
03:06relationship. This resulted in the actor being dropped from the production and by her agency.
03:11Rather than move on, Omuba, with the aid of her father's group Christian Concern,
03:17sued for religious discrimination, breach of contract, and harassment.
03:36In 2021, she lost the tribunal and had to pay over £300,000. In 2024, after appealing,
03:44Omuba lost again. 17. Principal Racism
03:50Graduation is an important time in any student's life. After years of studying, they now get
03:56celebrated as they move on to the next phase. Well, in 2015, students at the TNT Academy in
04:03Stone Mountain, Georgia, had their graduation tainted by the principal, Nancy Gorduk.
04:08In DeKalb County, Georgia, pomp and circumstance overshadowed by an angry principal.
04:16The principal, Nancy Gorduk, accidentally skipped the valedictorian's speech
04:20and now unsuccessfully trying to regain the audience's attention.
04:24After she made the mistake of dismissing students before the valedictorian's speech
04:29and trying to get them all back, Gorduk called the confused attendees rude and then stated,
04:35look who's leaving, all the black people. Yikes. In her apology email to parents,
04:41Gorduk blamed the devil in the house for her words.
04:4416. Collier Karen
05:08When you picture an educator who works with special needs children,
05:12you imagine a calm, tolerant, and empathetic person. Then there's Patricia Schmidt. In 2021,
05:19a mother and her child were walking down a street in Naples, Florida.
05:23The woman behind the wheel yelling racist insults at a mother and her kids works for
05:27the Collier County School District. Schmidt soon rolled up in her car,
05:31rolled down the window, and screamed at the pair for walking in a private neighborhood.
05:36After allegedly using a derogatory term for someone with learning disabilities,
05:40Schmidt also threw a middle finger alongside racial insults and slurs during her unhinged rant.
06:00Due to this, she was fired as an exceptional student education specialist by the Collier
06:05Public Schools. 15. Karen the Karen
06:10Give a Karen a dash of authority and everyone will suffer. In 2018, police in Tenafly,
06:16New Jersey, pulled over a car with an out-of-date registration and looked to impound it.
06:22One of the occupants was the daughter of Karen Turner,
06:35a commissioner with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
06:38Turner arrived to collect her daughter and name-dropped her political friends,
06:42insisted the cops refer to her as Commissioner,
06:45and tried to intimidate the officers with threats about their jobs.
06:50Sadly for Turner, it was all caught on the cops' dashcam. After issuing a half-apology,
06:58Turner was forced to resign from her role. She was later fined $1,500 by the New Jersey
07:03State Ethics Commission. 14. Pepper Spray Uber
07:09Sometimes you never know when your friend will show their true Karen-y ways. In 2024,
07:15Jennifer Gilbo and a friend got into Shoel Mahmood's Uber in Manhattan, New York.
07:32While at a stoplight, Mahmood began praying in Arabic. Gilbo quickly flung forward from her seat
07:38and pepper-sprayed the driver in the face repeatedly as he fought to get away. After
07:42getting over her shock, the friend helped stop Gilbo's attack. According to Mahmood,
07:47when the friend asked Gilbo why she did it, she stated it was because he was brown.
08:04On top of being criminally charged for her attack, which she pleaded not guilty to,
08:09Gilbo was fired from the public relations company D-Pagan Communications.
08:1513. Kefauve Kelly In 2018, D'Arien Tolles returned to the
08:21complex he lived at in St. Louis, Missouri, late one night. Instead of getting inside and relaxing,
08:27he was met at the door by Hilary Mueller. Armed with a tiny
08:39dog, she refused to let Tolles, a black man, inside. Instead, Mueller questioned him on whether
08:44he lived there and demanded to see his key fob. After Tolles eventually got in, it still wasn't
08:50over as Mueller followed him to his apartment. She also called the cops on him. When she was
08:55interviewed over the racist scandal, Mueller claimed she didn't do anything wrong and was
09:00following the rules of the complex. Her employers, real estate firm Tribeca STL,
09:13didn't see it that way and fired Mueller. 12. San Fran Caron
09:19In 2020, to show support, James Wanio stenciled Black Lives Matter with chalk on the property
09:26he lived at in San Francisco, California. Straight away, Lisa Alexander made her presence
09:32known and began interrogating Wanio on whether he lived there. Backed by her friend Robert Larkin,
09:50who was also recording the event, the duo lied about knowing the property owner despite that
09:55person actually being Wanio. The entitled pair then called the cops on him. Due to the outrage
10:01over racially profiling Wanio, Alexander's company, LaFace Skin Care, lost business opportunities.
10:08Birchbox, a makeup distribution service, posted this on its Instagram account,
10:12saying it has officially cut ties with LaFace and condemns the actions of Lisa Alexander.
10:17Larkin was fired from wealth management firm Raymond James. In 2024, now working with the
10:24crisis management team, Alexander went on Dr. Phil Primetime to complain about being cancelled.
10:3111. Fashion Caron In 2024, a teenager and her
10:36friends were enjoying a night out at a restaurant in St. George, Utah.
10:40Suddenly, she felt cold hands on her skin which were yanking down her skirts.
10:54The icy mitts belonged to Ida Lorenzo. She claimed the teenager was exposing herself
10:59to children due to her skirt being, in Lorenzo's opinion, too short. Lorenzo then mentioned she
11:05worked for the state, flashed an ID badge and threatened to call CPS. After the footage of
11:10her antics went viral, Lorenzo was fired as a legal secretary at the Utah Attorney General's office.
11:24After being charged with battery and agreeing to a plea deal,
11:27she'll escape a prison sentence as long as she doesn't break the law again for a year.
11:3410. DJ Disaster In 2020, Diana Ploss was a conservative
11:40talk radio host with WSMN who regularly talked about her admiration for Donald Trump. But then
11:47she threw that career away as she walked down the street in New Hampshire and harassed busy
11:52landscape workers. In the three-minute tirade, Ploss takes issue with a landscaping crew
11:57working on a project Friday in Nashua, right across the street from her now
12:01former radio station, WSMN. And all it took was hearing the employees speak Spanish.
12:07Ploss recorded the interaction as she accused the workers of being in the country illegally
12:12and demanded that they speak English in America. What's the first thing I do? Go for my phone,
12:17gotta do a live stream, have to show people what's going on.
12:21She also decided this proved the government was doing communism. Right. When a stranger stepped
12:27in, Ploss berated him for wearing a face mask amid a pandemic and pointed out his race.
12:32When WSMN heard about this incident, they dropped her show from the station.
12:37She used to pay to host a talk show at WSMN radio.
12:42That station says Ploss is no longer affiliated with them.
12:469. Anti-Tourist Karen
12:48There's a popular saying that drunk words, sober thoughts. Well, in 2023,
12:53a seemingly inebriated Brianna Penix was recorded on a train in New York City by another passenger.
13:02She went on an ever-increasing aggressive and xenophobic rant at a group of German
13:07tourists as she towered over them, claiming immigrants shouldn't come into the country.
13:12Penix's partner tried to calm the situation and talk train Karen down by warning her she
13:18could be arrested. He even threatened to leave her. Shortly after the viral incident, Penix's
13:27employer, pharmaceutical company Capital Rx, fired her from her job as a senior talent acquisition
13:33specialist as they have a zero-tolerance policy around prejudicial or discriminatory behavior.
13:398. Pool Patrol Paula
13:44Thanks to cell phones, people can record horrible interactions with Karens to get justice.
13:49For example, Stephanie Sebi Strempel, better known as Pool Patrol Paula, had her terrible
13:55behavior at a Somerville, South Carolina community swimming pool in 2018 exposed.
14:04She was seen shouting at black teenagers with racist overtones.
14:08Demanding that they leave despite being someone's guests and threatening to call 911.
14:15The next day, DJ showed the video to his parents,
14:19who believed the attack was racially motivated.
14:21As if that wasn't bad enough, Sebi Strempel was filmed pushing one of them.
14:26One victim also said she used racial slurs and continued to be violent.
14:30Sebi Strempel made it worse when she attacked law enforcement.
14:34She later pleaded guilty to assault and was fined $1,000.
14:48On top of that, the skin care group Rodon and Fields ceased working with Sebi Strempel,
14:53who was an independent contractor.
14:557. Park Ranger Karen
14:58Simply enjoying a hobby legally? Apparently, that's enough to get a Karen to involve herself.
15:03In 2023, Anthony Gibson captured Tonya Petty,
15:06bothering him as he fished at a lake in Georgia.
15:20She began by stating it was for residents, which Gibson is.
15:24With little resistance, Petty announced she wasn't allowed to record her and that she'd
15:28give law enforcement his license plate number.
15:31Unfortunately, Gibson stated this was the third time someone had harassed him
15:34for fishing in his neighborhood.
15:40The video eventually got the attention of Sea Glass Therapy,
15:42whom Petty worked for as an independent contractor.
15:45The company dropped her, stating they stand against discrimination of all forms.
15:506. Taco Tina
16:03Some Karens hate it when someone stands up for themselves, even when they've committed a crime.
16:08In 2023, employees of the Ortiz Taco Stand in Los Angeles, California,
16:13felt the wrath of Renee Latrice Hines after asking her to pay for her food.
16:19Hines was recorded uttering insults while relentlessly attacking the people,
16:30even hurling a sign at the individual filming for showing her license plate.
16:34Unsurprisingly, she was arrested and charged on several counts.
16:43But that's not all. Hines had been working as a temporary contractor for use in Logistics
16:49America through the company Simplified Labor Staff Solutions. Usin fired Hines for her horrid
16:55attack. 5. Anti-Protest Karen
17:14In 2020, a Black Lives Matter protest took place in Tennessee.
17:18But Sonya Holt was not happy about it for some reason.
17:21She was just jumping back and forth to different people.
17:24Sierra Gilmer, a board member of the new generation of Freedom Fighters,
17:28front and center of the protests, absorbing hate words from a few counter-protesters.
17:33She started screaming everything that she did.
17:35The vile anti-protester was filmed screaming homophobic and racist insults at people,
17:40many of which are too terrible to repeat.
17:43She also had support from those around her, who were uttering obscenities that are just as
17:48disturbing. When the video got out, Holt tried to walk back her grim remarks by apologizing
17:57in a news interview. However, her employers, the Keith Family Vision Clinic, were less than
18:02impressed. They didn't let their business' reputation get dragged through the mud by
18:06association, though, promptly firing her. 4. McDonald's Mayhem
18:18Most people go to McDonald's to grab food and leave. No drama, just some burgery goodness.
18:24But in 2023, a chain in Fresno, California, didn't have a calm time.
18:29Gina Aiello allegedly got into an argument with staff over a soda.
18:36When Luis Aceves, another customer, stepped in and criticized her for being disrespectful,
18:42Aiello bellowed a racist insult at him before storming out of the building.
18:54It was soon discovered she worked at the dental office of Dr. Jack Ohanesian.
18:58First, Aiello was put on leave as Ohanesian and company investigated. A few days later,
19:03Ohanesian publicly revealed she had been fired, citing his proud heritage of his great-grandfather
19:09coming to the States from Armenia and experiencing prejudice. After we called to confirm her as an
19:15employee with the dental office, they released a new statement, saying in part, quote,
19:19An employee who is seen on video making offensive comments is no longer part of our team.
19:253. Permit Patty When kids show initiative and want to create
19:29a business, they should be praised for doing so. But in 2018, Allison Edel shut down a young
19:34black girl selling water bottles in San Francisco, California.
19:46Claiming to be enraged by the noise as she worked from home,
19:49Edel confronted Jordan Rodgers, demanding to see her permit. Edel then called the cops about the
19:54situation, something she denied actually doing. However, it was later proven she did speak to
19:59dispatchers. I said, please, I'm trying to work. You're screaming, you're yelling,
20:04and people have open windows. It's a hot day. Can you please keep it down?
20:08Edel says she never confronted Jordan, just her mother, Erin Austin, who took this video.
20:15After being mocked online and deemed Permit Patty, Edel's businesses,
20:19TreatWell Health, reportedly hired a crisis manager to assess the situation. In the end,
20:24she had to resign as its CEO due to the horrible publicity and loss of business she had created.
20:29However things unfolded, the backlash has been fierce. Dispensaries have pulled Edel's products
20:35off the shelves. She said she's received numerous death threats while also being called a racist.
20:402. South Park Susan In 2018, sisters Lisa and Mary
20:46Garris were waiting for AAA in the parking lot of an apartment building in Charlotte,
20:50North Carolina. But then Susan Westwood arrived. This morning, police are looking for this woman
20:55dubbed South Park Susan in this video gone viral. Is your boyfriend here? Is your baby daddy here?
21:02The seemingly intoxicated Karen ranted at the duo with plenty of racism and bragged about her
21:07high-paying job. She even threatened the sisters with violence. Police determined Westwood's report
21:12was false and charged her with abusing 911, one of the charges she answered to today in court
21:18while her two victims looked on. Westwood faced several charges which she pled guilty to and
21:23received 12 months probation alongside other punishments. She was also fired from her
21:28employment at Spectrum Enterprises. This video also captured the woman citing her salary,
21:33but her former employer fired her after this video surfaced. This incident mixed with further
21:38issues reportedly helped Westwood see she needed to get help for her substance use.
21:42She was notably interviewed in 2022 showing remorse for her past actions and insisting
21:47she had changed her racist ways.
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22:06Number 1. Central Park Karen
22:08One incident in 2020 at New York City's Central Park took the internet by storm. On that day,
22:14Christian Cooper was birding when he spotted Amy Cooper with an unleashed dog in a prohibited area.
22:19If you have been on social media today, you have likely seen this.
22:23A Central Park confrontation went viral netting more than 25 million views.
22:28When he confronted the woman, whom he's not related to despite their last names,
22:32the conversation took a dark turn. Cooper called the cops dramatically claiming she
22:36was being threatened by a black man, all while tugging her poor pup's collar.
22:41Thankfully, Christian recorded the incident.
22:43Cooper told News 4 he spoke out because he's cognizant of what's happened in the past
22:47when police are called on unarmed black men.
22:59Amy was slated all over and was even investigated by the police. Her employer,
23:05investment firm Franklin Templeton, fired her. She filed a suit and subsequent appeal
23:09against the decision. However, in 2023, the court ruled against her.
23:14Cooper was immediately fired from her job. Reports say Cooper has lost her suit against
23:18Franklin Templeton, which claimed she was illegally fired and portrayed as a racist.
23:23If you had to have dinner with any infamous Karen, who would you pick? And why? Permit Patty,
23:30Soho Karen, Keefob Kelly, or someone else? Let us know below.
23:44Clips from WatchMojo! And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.