TikToker Self-Proclaims to be a 'Karen,' Sparks Debate on What Constitutes 'Karen' Behavior

TikToker “Aunt Kathy” aka @lalablacksheep00 or @lalablacksheep.backup is followed on TikTok for her very decided discussions and passionate viewpoints on different subjects. She is unafraid to argue with people who disagree with her in the comments and will dedicate entire videos to a single comment. On her backup account, she recently addressed a viewer that called her out for having “Karen behavior.” She whole heartedly embraced the comment and self-proclaimed herself to absolutely be a Karen. However, she gives two rules to how to properly be a Karen and not one of those insane Karens that goes bonkers and is a complete a-hole. 

“See, being a Karen isn't always a bad thing,” she says in the video. “There are just two rules to being a Karen: For one, you don't attack the minimum wage employees. Go after the people who are literally paid to deal with you. Secondly, you better be right. I'm talking more correct than correct and have the proof of it.”

“Karen Behavior”

She shares a story of how she had to be a Karen one time and many of the viewers are debating if what she did should actually be considered “Karen” behavior. The story goes that one time a few months ago she had put in a grocery store pick up order. She got a text saying it was ready, but when she went to pick it up she waited 45-minutes for someone to come out and tell her that it would actually not be ready until the next day. She was annoyed, but didn't say anything yet. She got the text the next day saying her order was ready, so she went back to the grocery store. This time she called before going there and they confirmed, so she went to the store. When she got there, it turns out it still was not ready. She tried to just get a refund so she could just go shopping herself instead, and they said they could not give her a refund and that her order will be ready the next day. So she still swallowed all her frustration and went back home. She came back on the thirds day and it was still not ready. So she asked for a manager because she was about to explode. The young attendant broke down and said everyone was asking for the manager, but the manager didn't want to come out, and he was in tears, and he hadn't had a break all day and wasn't going to get one. So she gave this poor underpaid boy a snack pack and had him take a break in her car. When he felt a little better, he went and got the manager for her and boy did she rip that manager a new one. She not only complained about her pick up, she also complained about in managerial skills and how he was basically abusing this pour young employee by not giving him a break. She even reported this manager to corporate. “I don't like to be a Karen, I prefer to approach things nicely and just get it handled that way,” Kathy says. “But being a Karen is f***ing effective and it gets sh*t done.”

On paper, she did do many notably “Karen” things like ask for the manager and report them to corporate. But, on the other hand, she did it in a very respectful way, she even stood up for the underpaid employee, and it was after three long days of her not receiving what she paid for. To a lot of her viewers, that actually seems pretty legit.

Many of her viewers are commenting on her side, but saying that what she is describing is not Karen behavior, it's simply human behavior. “See, real Karen’s attack EVERYONE. You are not a Karen,” one viewer commented. “THIS. What if those groceries were literally to feed your kids THAT day? They should have refunded you after the first eff up,” another viewer says on Kathy's side. “You are for sure not a Karen. A Karen would have ripped into that kid. You did a good thing you recognized the thing that 99% of customers don't realize,” another viewer added.

So, we all know Karens ask for the manager and threaten to report to corporate, but maybe sometimes that is actually necessary? As Kathy says, as long as you're 110% correct and you're not taking it out on the wrong person.