TikTok Spencer's Karen
A TikTok video shows a woman being called a “Spencer’s Karen” falsely targeting a Black man for stealing her phone in California. He didn’t; it was in her purse the entire time, the video shows.
Now the video has gone viral, the latest in a series of videos that show white women, known as “Karens,” unfairly singling out Black people for things they didn’t do. You can watch the Spencer’s Karen video below.
The video was posted on TikTok by the account fuxktdub. It’s been viewed more than 2.2 million times on TikToK alone. The Spencer’s Karen has not been identified. According to The Independent, the video was filmed inside a Spencer’s in California.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Spencer’s Karen Falsely Believed the Black Man Had Stolen Her Phone, Then Unearthed It Inside Her Purse
@fuxktdub
The caption on the video says, “Karen really pulled this at a Spencer’s.” It declares that racism is “alive and well.”
The woman is seen digging through her purse. “Can you call it because she won’t let us call it?” a woman with the Black man being targeted told a man who appeared to be a store clerk.
“He could have turned off the ringer,” the white woman says.
“Oh my God, do you want him to get f****** naked, lady?” the woman with the man says.
The clerk says, “Guys, let’s try to stay calm and cool.”
“I want my phone back,” the “Spencer’s Karen” responds.
The clerk says he will call the phone.
“He’s trying to help you,” says the woman with the unidentified Black man, referring to the store clerk.
The Black man says, “Here’s everything in my pockets.”
“You want to pat him down?” asks the woman with him.
The woman with the man said he “just emptied out everything in his pockets.”
“They have my number, they have my phone,” insists the “Spencer’s karen.”
“We don’t have your phone,” the other woman retorts.
“I just stuck it right here and you walked right behind me,” the Karen says.
“Is it in your purse ma’am,” she’s asked, and lo and behold, she finds her phone inside her purse, where it was all along.
“Yes it is. I’m sorry. I apologize,” she told the man.
People Didn’t Think the Store Clerk Handled the Situation Well
TikTokSpencer’s Karen
People responded on the TikTok comment thread. Here are some of those comments. Many criticized the store clerk as well.
“Accused of stealing and being told to calm down. I would’ve been so triggered.”
“I lose my phone every 15 seconds and I can’t imagine accusing someone of taking it.”
“She knew her phone was in her purse the entire time.”
“Aaaaargh! Store clerk needed to acknowledge your right to be upset and not try to quiet you as if you were the problem.”
“Train your employees to not side with racists and expect victims to stay calm. That cashier was absurd!”
“That purse isn’t that big. She knew it was in there.”
“Can’t stand a manager who tries to ‘calm down’ the literal victim.”
“The sales associate is so unhelpful.”
“They being racially profiled and he’s telling them to stay calm…they always defending the racist.”
“I’ve lost my phone in my purse several times. But usually my first instinct is to look.”
READ NEXT: Read More About the Delphi Murders