To our parents, ‘Karen’ is probably just a name. But on the Internet, the word stands for so, so much more. According to a popular meme, Karen is a middle-aged white woman with an asymmetrical bob who is always asking to speak to the manager. She’s entitled, she’s ignorant, and she’s often a racist, too.
As the meme has become more and more popular, however, its meaning has become muddled. Hopefully, these Karen stories will help clarify things.
Some time ago, Redditor ghostofgenerayburn asked people to share the most ‘Karen’ things someone has ever done to them. Over time, their post received over 1,5K comments packed with crazy Karen stories, many of which detail what actions make you a ‘Karen.’
With that in mind, we’ve handpicked 49 standout stories that perfectly capture those unmistakable Karen moments. From the absurd to the infuriating, these real-life encounters showcase Karens being Karens in their natural habitat, giving us a clearer picture of what it truly means to meet one.
#1
When I worked at the Home Depot a Karen told me that she didn’t want any black men to install her flooring. I was in charge of arranging her order and told her that we don’t select which individuals exactly will install her floor and that she’ll get who she gets. She proceeds to have a fit about it, demands white installers, asks to speak to my manager. I’m so glad she did, because my manager’s name was Dwayne and he was a real big black dude. Turns out she didn’t want to speak to the manager
#2
It’s been long enough that I think anyone involved has long since forgotten. Now, I should say that this didn’t happen to me personally, but it occurred in real time while I was (indirectly) present. I was working for A Phone Company in a call center. We were in training for a new scope of service, and part of that training involved listening to some of those calls that ‘may be recorded for training purposes’. Normally, the recordings are selected semi-randomly, but this one was specifically selected because it had happened to a supervisor in our center ten minutes prior. Karen called us in a fury. It seems that she had discovered that her son had replaced her number on his ‘five favorite numbers’ list with the contact information of an unknown female. She wanted us to change it back. We legally could not do that. It’s not her phone, after all, and he made the change intentionally. When the agent on the call tells her this, Karen flips her [crap] in the way only a true ‘Karen’ can. It’s the full package: screaming, shouting, accusing us of being crooked, unfair, ‘the customer is always right’, etc, etc. At this point, I should mention that Karen was calling from the store in her local mall. After about five minutes of Karen Rage, we hear the following exchange: *Serious ‘Authority Voice’* ‘Ma’am, if you can’t calm down, you’re gonna have to leave the store.’ *Mostly incoherant K-Raging* (sounds like ‘I will not calm down!’, ‘they’re cheating me’, and so forth). *SAV* Okay — ma’am? — you’re under arrest.’ *Shocked, disbelieving pause in K-Raging* ‘I’m what?’ *SAV* ‘You’re under arrest, ma’am, for [something muffled and unintelligible]. This final declaration is followed by the sound of a mobile phone clattering to the floor/countertop, from where the sales person retrieves it: ‘Uh…yeah, sorry about that. I don’t think you have to worry about this any more, she just got arrested.’
#3
I deliver appliances for Best Buy. We had a woman call and complain that her fridge was not pre-cooled before it was delivered and that she had to wait for it to come down to temp. No one in the office was prepared for that one.
According to Know Your Meme, a Wiki-style site and one of the cornerstones of internet history, it’s unclear where exactly ‘Karen’ began being used as a pejorative character. It argues that “Karen” the meme might’ve started with the ‘Oh My God, Karen, You Can’t Just Ask Someone Why They’re White’ meme from Mean Girls. Others believe that the popularity of the name may come from the character Karen from the 1989 gangster film Goodfellas.
#4
When I was working retail, this one women had a big bag of coupons. Most of them were unusable because either they were expired or they were duplicates. She berated me because the system was rejecting most of the coupons. She called me stupid amongst other names, telling me I just wasn’t doing it right. Then as a typical Karen would, she asked to speak with my manager. My manager came and asked what the problem was. The women ranted about how incompetent I was because I didn’t know how to scan a coupon. My manager looked at the coupons and the coupons were the problem, not me. My manager [called] out the customer for being disrespectful for me and told the customer to leave the store. I hated working there but I’m so grateful that I had managers that totally didn’t go by the “customer is always right” rule and weren’t afraid to stand up for their employees. That was just one of many incidents.
#5
In medical school, we had a Karen. She was…not a very nice person. She was notorious for losing her temper on just about everyone and being an overall bully. One day, she picked me as a target, apparently I was sitting in “her seat”. I asked her to point out to me where it was posted or embroidered on the seat that this was “Karen’s seat”. I refused to budge. Prof. entered lecture theatre, Karen protested to prof. Prof. proceeded to give her a verbal beatdown on entitlement and how these types of people make horrible doctors. Karen felt wronged and left. The whole class applauded as she was leaving, she mostly kept to herself afterwards. I felt it was long overdue justice being served.
#6
The mother of a girl I went to school with, comes into the shop I work at at 5.58pm (we close at 6), lights are half off, front door is closed, roller door is half down, and goes “Hi *my name*! I’m just running in to grab a few things!” Before I can tell her not to, she’s gone into the aisles. My manager comes over and goes “what are you doing? We have to be done by six!” He went to find her, she’s already got a basket full of things going “where are the capsicums? Can I just grab…?” keep in mind this is a fruit shop – half the items come off the shelves and into the cool room. My manager is literally the nicest guy ever and agrees to ring up her items as long as she pays card, as the cash is all packed into the safe. “No that’s ridiculous, I only have cash! *My name* Hun can you tell him I only have cash?” So I tell her the exact same thing, that we literally can’t access the cash once the safe is closed for the day. “Oh. Well can you just pay for it on your card and I’ll get *daughter* to pay you back?” I tell her that I can’t do that, she starts shouting about how unprofessional we are, that the shop is awful because half the items are gone (WE WERE CLOSED), and that she’s “never coming back!” (thank god). She avoids me at school events now, and I honestly feel sorry for her daughter, the stories I hear about this cow are shocking. Icing on the cake? Her name is actually Karen.
Regardless of where it came from, ‘Karen’ is now a slang term for an antagonistic female character. BBQ Becky is a Karen. Permit Patty is a Karen. Amy Cooper is a Karen.
But not everyone is behind the meme. For example, David Dennis Jr., a journalist who has written about the pitfalls of assigning nicknames to women who do nefarious things, told Insider that calling women like the aforementioned trope by a false name grants them a level of “anonymity” and belittles what they’ve done.
#7
Told me I couldn’t work on my car in my own garage at noon because she didn’t want my fast looking car to influence her son’s to “be hooligans like you”