© Instagram / @karlosdillardA screenshot from Karlos Dillard's video
In video footage shot in Seattle on Monday, black Twitter user Karlos Dillard confronted a middle-aged white woman who, he said, had cut him off in traffic then flipped him off. Following the woman home, Dillard asked her to speak to him outside her house, but the woman refused, covering her face and attempting to hide her license plate from his camera.
As the argument progressed, Dillard claims that the woman called him a racial slur. The sobbing woman denies this, saying that she has a black husband. As the woman cries, Dillard explains her offenses to bystanders, drawing attention to her house. Dillard posted a full-length video of the encounter to his Instagram channel, but there is no proof that the woman had used the language Dillard said she did.
Ragging on 'Karens' - slang for a particularly pernickety breed of middle-aged, usually white women who demand to see the manager, who loudly complain about customer service, and who feel unduly threatened by minorities - has become the stuff of internet sport, but there are two sides to every story.
Though a horde of internet activists demanded the woman be shown no mercy, there is no evidence that Dillard is telling the truth. Furthermore, he attempted only last month to publicly humiliate an Asian woman who asked to see his ID when he was at work picking up food from her for delivery, and supposedly called him a "n***er."
In the less than 24 hours since Dillard posted it, the video has amassed more than six million views and has been reported by several media outlets, most of whom have focused on the woman's "white tears," "theatrics" and "total meltdown." However, most didn't mention the fact that Dillard's Twitter username, 'Wypipo_h8' is internet shorthand for "White people hate," or the fact that Dillard, a self-described "viral video star" has already tried to monetize the woman's alleged racism by flogging t-shirts making fun of her.
Likewise, the woman's crying and her attempts to hide her face and plate were likely more than just "theatrics," as African-American beauty magazine Essence described them. Viewers were left with no idea what happened before the encounter, and the woman's behavior may well have been an attempt to save her livelihood. Indeed, amid the current trend of online 'Karen-shaming', those who have tried to respond have been punished for standing up for themselves.
When California woman Lisa Alexander called the police on a man stencilling 'Black Lives Matter' on a sidewalk outside his property earlier this month, the cosmetics company whose products she distributed cut its ties with her. Her husband, who recorded the encounter, lost his investment banking job, even after Alexander apologized publicly to the stenciller, a Filipino man.
In New York, Amy Cooper - dubbed the "Ultimate Karen" by woke netizens, was fired from her financial services job last month after she was recorded calling the police on a black man in Central Park, who scolded her for having her dog off his leash. Cooper, who claimed the man threatened her dog, later apologized for her role in the encounter, but was still ousted from her job.
By Tuesday afternoon, Dillard was facing mounting backlash for the video, with conservative pundits dog-piling his replies to call him a "grifter," a "race hustler," and a "sociopath." His employer, delivery firm Postmates, was also alerted to the video, and said it was investigating the issue.
Twitter suspends account of black comedian who posted viral 'Karen-shaming' video as other incidents emerge
© Instagram/ Karlos DillardKarlos Dillard
The overnight fame may have gotten the best of Dillard, though it remains unclear exactly what led to him being temporarily suspended from the platform. Many online accused him of profiteering from the incident and of misleading witnesses (whom he also videoed but without mentioning any racial profanity).
At one point, Dillard attempts to show the woman's license plate. Twitter initially claimed the episode could not be construed as doxxing, as the woman's exact address could not be ascertained from the footage, but it now appears something changed at Twitter head office as Karlos Dillard aka @wypipo_h8 has been suspended for violating its terms of service.
Dillard has been posting prolifically on Instagram since the incident occurred and subsequently went viral. It also emerged that he has 'priors' of claiming people racially abused him, only for him to clap back, without providing any evidence.
He also shared a video on Instagram, where he has 28,000 followers, purporting to show a police raid on his home, which he claims took place following a 911 call from a 'Karen.'
"I've had Karens call the cops on my family simply because we were having loud sex. This video is 2 years old these cops broke into my house assaulted me out his knee on my neck all because a Karen called them because she felt uncomfortable," Dillard says in the caption of the video.
Comment: A stark reminder that, in our dark and bizarre times, one needs to exercise discernment as much as is possible, lest we end up believing, supporting and promoting lies.