Boo Hoo Karen

Overview

Boo Hoo Karen, also known as Airport Karen, refers to a viral video depicting the heckling of a Karen by video recorders who captured a meltdown in the Indianapolis International Airport in late May 2021. Though the specifics of the event are unknown, there are unsubstantiated claims made during the video about the events preceding the recording. Many people online have taken the heckling of the Karen by the surrounding civilians as a new meme to use online in response to Karens in general.

Background

Though it is unclear exactly what happened before the recording started, there are two pieces of information given, by the Karen in question and the videographer. According to "Airport Karen," who's been identified as a woman named Terry Ann, she was being held down and choked by the airport security guard who can be seen in a verbal altercation with her. According to the videographer, the Karen had attempted to barge herself into a restricted part of the airport, namely the gate runway, and had to be restrained by security personnel as is the procedure. The footage was uploaded by Twitter^[1] user @chris_notcapn on May 26th, 2021, and received 90,000 likes, 3.1 million views and 3,500 replies in less than a day (shown below).

NOT BOO HOO 😩💀 pic.twitter.com/ohMcptj8sg

— chris evans (@chris_notcapn) May 26, 2021

Online Reactions

Many Twitter users were delighted at the video, while others felt bad for everyone involved. The most common reply to the video was praise for the videographer's reaction when the woman tried to call out for help and support from the crowd. Instead of giving her the support she was expecting, he and others started justifying the police officer's actions, as noticed by Twitter^[2] user @ChloeTheGr8st, who racked up 3,600 likes for their tweet of support (shown below).

Omg!!! I LOVE how petty he was. "I saw you try to run into the door…" pic.twitter.com/oOFJE6Fa7N

— Chloe Randolph-Brown (@ChloeTheGr8st) May 26, 2021

The second most common response to the video was people noting how the woman was doing the stereotypical signature move of Karens by "calling the manager." This sentiment was tweeted^[3] out by @NancyTwinMama, who gained 8,600 likes in one day for stating how absurd it was that the woman tried to ask for the manager of an entire airport (shown below).

She really asked for the manager of the airport. Lmaooooo. Wow.

— Nancy (@NancyTwinMama) May 26, 2021

Other Twitter users were quick to point out how the entire display was one big act of performative acting, with @ClassicFresca^[4] gaining 15,000 likes in one day for noticing how fast the switch was from a devastated and sad individual to one almost committing assault (shown below).

Notice how she went from “helpless victim” to straight up about to charge at a guy in 0 seconds flat Because I noticed that, those tears dried up pretty quick when the facts came out

— classic fresca (@ClassicFresca) May 26, 2021

Search Interest

External Resources