The white woman who tackled a Black teenager for allegedly stealing her iPhone isn’t entirely convinced he’s innocent. In a “CBS This Morning” interview that aired on Monday (Jan. 11), Miya Ponsetto stood by previous accusations she made against Keyon Harrold Jr.
Ponsetto — dubbed “SoHo Karen” — attacked the teen on Dec. 26 in the lobby of Manhattan’s Arlo hotel in search of her missing iPhone. The cellphone was reportedly discovered and returned to the hotel by an Uber driver, but she questions whether that actually happened.
“So, maybe it wasn’t him,” Ponsetto said in the interview which was recorded on Thursday (Jan. 7). “But at the same time, how is it that as soon as I get asked to leave the premises, after I had accused this person of stealing my phone, how is that all of a sudden they just miraculously have my phone at the back?”
In the first part of the conversation with Gayle King, SoHo Karen explained that she targeted Harrold Jr. because she believed that the thief would be among the many people leaving the hotel. She later confessed he was the only one she’d confronted.
“I admit, yes, I could’ve approached the situation differently or maybe not yelled at him like that… and hurting his feelings, because that was not my intention. I consider myself to be super sweet,” she said.
Ponsetto issued an apology to Harrold Jr., but it wasn’t enough to keep her from being apprehended. Hours after the interview was conducted, the 22-year-old was arrested by Ventura County sheriff’s deputies in Los Angeles. SoHo Karen was extradited to New York City and appeared in a Manhattan courtroom on Saturday (Jan. 9) where she was charged with two counts of attempted assault, attempted robbery, grand larceny and endangering the welfare of a child.