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‘You’re fighting with an 18-year-old’: Anti-mask ‘Karen’ snatches phone from teen at nail salon

‘Yes, I am pressing charges.’

Photo of Kahron Spearman

Kahron Spearman

A woman in a nail salon yells at the camera.

A TikToker is accusing a so-called “Salon Karen” of attacking a young woman at a nail salon in Park Ridge, Illinois, after she was asked to wear a mask.

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TikTok user @elsie_debue shared the video and says her daughter was in a chair getting her nails done when she asked a woman to wear a mask, leading to an argument. The viral video has nearly 2 million views.

The woman who refused to wear a mask gets up while arguing, seemingly prepared to leave the shop. The caption of the video reads, “Please help us find her!”

The overlay text says, “This woman assaulted my daughter at a nail salon because my daughter called her out for not wearing a mask.”

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The video shows the young woman telling the unmasked “Karen” to “put your mask on!”

https://www.tiktok.com/@elsie_debue/video/6943390830140968198?is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6893542180917790213

It’s unclear what the older woman replies. “You’re a doctor? Put your mask on,” the younger woman repeats as the woman notices she’s being recorded. 

The “Salon Karen” says that not many people are dying from COVID-19. The daughter retorts that she knows people who have had the virus or died from complications.

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“You can’t dispute this,” she continues. “You’re being rude and they have signs all over. And you’re fighting with an 18-year-old.”

Suddenly, the older woman tries to snatch away the young woman’s phone.

https://www.tiktok.com/@elsie_debue/video/6943723911267765509?is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6893542180917790213

In an update video, the TikToker said staff had asked the “Karen” to leave and told her she wasn’t welcome back to the salon. The young woman says she started recording because the older woman became “belligerent with the staff.”

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https://www.tiktok.com/@elsie_debue/video/6943743143707675909?is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6893542180917790213

In a subsequent video, she says the violent Karen essentially went out of her way to approach her, attempt to snatch her phone, and hit her in the face.

https://www.tiktok.com/@elsie_debue/video/6943753110909160709?is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6893542180917790213
https://www.tiktok.com/@elsie_debue/video/6943768394952969477?is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6893542180917790213
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In a follow-up video, the TikTok user says internet sleuths helped her locate the woman and her employer’s information, which she gave to the police.

“Yes, I am pressing charges,” she says. “It’s gonna be a long process, getting this done, but we’re gonna do it right.”


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