Amy Cooper, a white woman from New York and VP of Investment Solutions at Franklin Templeton, has gone viral in a video where she allegedly called the police claiming that her life was in danger after a black man named Christian Cooper, 57, had reportedly asked her to put her dog, Henry, on a leash in the Ramble section of Central Park over the Memorial Day weekend.
The video, which was posted online by the man and his sister, Melody Cooper, amassed millions of views on social media and has even been covered in European media in countries like England and Germany. It has also sparked an intense debate over race and gender in the country.
Melody Cooper shared on Twitter: “My brother & I are so grateful for your concern! He is fine and left to continue birding after she leashed the dog, as he politely requested. I wanted folks to know what happened to make sure it never happens again from her. All she had to do was put her poor dog on the leash.”
Oh, when Karens take a walk with their dogs off leash in the famous Bramble in NY’s Central Park, where it is clearly posted on signs that dogs MUST be leashed at all times, and someone like my brother (an avid birder) politely asks her to put her dog on the leash. pic.twitter.com/3YnzuATsDm
— Melody Cooper (@melodyMcooper) May 25, 2020
Some in the African American community find that the clip is the perfect illustration of what people of color go through on a daily basis when it comes to racism and prejudice.
It is also a big blow to the #MeToo movement, which is based on the #BelieveAllWomen concept. In the video, Amy Cooper appears to be exaggerating the so-called threats made by Christian Cooper, a Harvard graduate and former Marvel Comics editor, who now works as a senior biomedical editor at Health Science Communications.
The video shows Amy Cooper threatening to call cops on Christian Cooper, an avid bird watcher, and warning him that she would tell the dispatcher that he was an imminent threat to her life and her dog. He was not standing close to her and asked her to call the authorities. He reportedly filmed the whole thing because she was getting too close to him and was refusing to put her dog on a leash as required in the park.
That dog left Central Park and went straight to the Feds to give his statement pic.twitter.com/EYBSAG3kKb
— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) May 26, 2020
Amy Cooper adopted the dog two years ago from Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue Inc., which released the following statement on the matter: “Thank you to the concerned public for reaching out to us about a video involving a dog that was adopted from our rescue a few years ago. As of this evening, the owner has voluntarily surrendered the dog in question to our rescue while this matter is being addressed. Our mission remains the health and safety of our rescued dogs. The dog is now in our rescue’s care, and he is safe and in good health. We will not be responding to any further inquiries about the situation, either publicly or privately. Thank you for your understanding.”
No arrests were made after the cops arrived; both people had already left. Amy Cooper has deleted her social media profiles, and her employer has released a statement saying that the situation is being investigated, and she is on leave.
In response to an incident involving an employee on May 25th, Franklin Templeton issued the following statement. pic.twitter.com/8f2lMwK0r5
— Franklin Templeton (@FTI_US) May 26, 2020
Online commenters are going hard in this. One person wrote: “She bout to choke the damn dog to death that she apparently loves so much, she just bloodthirsty – wanna cry white panic and get this king hemmed up, I respect him for not flinching and remaining civil.”
A second observer chimed in: “She’s so deep in her Karen-rage that she doesn’t realize she’s choking the hell outta that dog!”
A third comment read: “Y’all really in these comments about the treatment the dog got when she basically took a hit out on an innocent black man?!?!”
The #KarenStrikesAgain has been trending on social media. Some have complained that the name Karen has become synonymous with white women acting outlandishly in situations involving race.
