The woman seen screaming at workers and customers during opening day at a new Trader Joe’s in North Hollywood, California, has been talking to Los Angeles television news reporters in an effort to defend her actions and explain what the world saw in the cell. phone videos that have circulated around the world.
The videos show her throwing her shopping basket and yelling at Trader Joe’s workers who told her to wear a face mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
This is a Trader Joe’s today. In Los Angeles. The cases are through the roof in California. Is there a way to reach these people?
pic.twitter.com/q1hIQr6aCL
– Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) June 27, 2020
I’ve already found Karen from the San Fernando Valley #karen #KarensGoneWild #TraderJoes #noho #northhollywood #grandopening #coronaviris # COVID19 Follow this thread pic.twitter.com/V0vkAMgkHi
– D. Giles (@ItsRellzWorld) June 27, 2020
The woman, who did not allow Los Angeles television stations to use her name, called those around her “Democratic pigs” and claimed she had a medical problem that exempted her from wearing a face mask.
“So if someone harasses me for wearing a mask, you are violating federal law,” he says in the cell phone video. “My doctor wouldn’t let me wear a mask.”
Since the videos were made public, the woman has spoken on camera to reporters on ABC7, CBS2 / KCAL9 and Fox11.
She has been vague about her medical condition.
“I basically have a respiratory problem with my nose,” he told CBS2 / KCAL9.
She told ABC7 that she called Trader Joe’s in Toluca Lake and they gave her permission to shop without a mask. She then went to the new NoHo location by mistake, but the manager of that location also gave her permission to shop without a mask, but only for that day.
While at the store, she said a man started yelling at her for the lack of a mask. She told CBS2 that she felt threatened.
“No one was helping me, so at the time, that’s what they show in the video.”
“They made it look like I’m a crazy person, and yes, I threw my basket on the ground and not anyone,” he told Fox11.
“All we have seen in the past few months is division and hatred,” he told a journalist. “I am a human being. I reacted on the basis of feeling helpless in this situation.”
How do you feel about what happened at Trader Joe’s?
“At those times, I felt like they were acting like pigs. I regret? No. Not really, at those times.
Police were called, but no charges were filed, CBS2 said.
The woman tells her side of the story after a tirade after being asked to wear a face mask at a Trader Joe’s store in North Hollywood https://t.co/hyrDBN44gM
– ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ ABC7) June 29, 2020
Embarrassed Mask: “They made it look like I’m a crazy person and yes, I threw my basket on the ground and not anyone,” said a woman who was seen without a mask in a grocery store in a now viral video. DETAILS: https://t.co/QgdSmnX147
– FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@ FOX13News) June 29, 2020
Despite their desire to remain anonymous, the women’s name was released on social media on Monday.
Others who shopped at the store without masks since the incident were asked to leave, CBS2 reported.
