woman standing in checkout hands on hips speaking (l) woman standing at checkout hands out turned head looking around speaking (c) woman at checkout hands up speaking (r)

@gingergarcia/TikTok

‘I have just been stereotyped for shoplifting’: Karen says she’s getting ‘stereotyped’ in Macy’s, causing confusion

'Flipped the script about being stereotyped for shoplifting bc she was being recorded.'

 

Braden Bjella

IRL

Posted on Jun 14, 2022   Updated on Jun 14, 2022, 10:01 am CDT

A woman went viral on TikTok this week after making the confusing claim that she was being stereotyped for shoplifting while waiting in line to check out.

The video, posted by user Ginger (@gingergarcia) shows a woman saying she is “absolutely horrified,” asking for a manager, and making her now-viral claim that she has just been “stereotyped for shoplifting.”

Ginger’s video currently has over 1.7 million views, with many commenters labeling her with the now-famous moniker “Karen.”

@gingergarcia I was so confused 😂 #fyp #ReadyForHell ♬ original sound – Ginger Garcia

In the video, a woman can be seen standing in line at Macy’s.

“What is this?” the woman asks after directing an employee to call a manager.

“It’s called ‘short-staffed,’” someone off-camera responds.

“No, this is not called…short-staffed,” the woman responds.

When she is told to find another line, the woman claims she will before apparently noticing she is being recorded. 

“No, I am not doing that,” she says. “I have just been stereotyped for shoplifting. I’m sorry. Are you guys going to tell me I haven’t?”

Another person off-camera responds with, “I highly doubt it.”

The woman then asks what the person in line is “doing,” to which they answer, “What do you mean? I’m in line.”

According to Ginger in comments, there is no follow-up video as “she basically left after talking to the manager for like 2 minutes.”

At first, commenters made jokes about the woman and her claim of being stereotyped for shoplifting.

“‘I have just been stereotyped for shoplifting’ sent me,” one user wrote. “And then she asked them to agree with her and everyone was silent. I laughed so hard.”

“She wanted to make a scene about the line being too long…then flipped the script about being stereotyped for shoplifting bc she was being recorded,” another user theorized.

“I thought she was going to say she was stereotyped as a Karen,” a third claimed.

While many laughed about the woman’s accusation, others speculated that she could have just been misinterpreting the behavior of Macy’s employees.

“I used to go all the time but they do follow you around and just stare when shopping for clothes. I get her,” one user said.

“I used to work at macys and we were told to watch people or else we’d get in trouble,” another commenter alleged.

Still, outbursts like these are apparently common for workers at both Macy’s and other customer service jobs.

“I personally work at macys and the amount of times a week something like this happens,” a commenter stated.

“I used to work at Macys and I confirm this would happen at least once every shift,” a second added.

The Daily Dot reached out to Ginger via TikTok comment.


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*First Published: Jun 14, 2022, 10:00 am CDT