A white woman dubbed “Spencers Karen” falsely accused a Black man named Kinley of stealing her phone only to find it in her purse moments later.
The woman was shopping at a Spencers in Sunrise Mall when she “misplaced” her phone and immediately blamed the man for stealing it.
A video uploaded on TikTok captures the conversation that ensued. According to the footage, Kinley’s wife sought the assistance of an employee, who agreed to call the woman’s missing phone. Karen, however, appeared to be reluctant, instead suggesting that the accused man could have turned the phone off.
“Oh my God! What, do you want him to get fucking naked, lady?” Kinley’s wife asked, to which Karen responded with pleas for the man to return her phone. In an effort to prove his innocence, Kinley emptied out his pockets and agreed to get pat down, but the accusations continued.
“I just stuck it right here, you walked right behind me, and you took it,” said Karen. Eventually, the Spencers employee jumped into the conversation and handed the white woman his phone, so she could locate her own device. Upon dialing her number, the phone rang, directing the employee to the woman’s purse.
“Is it in your purse, ma’am?” the Black man’s wife asked, inciting an apology from the white woman. “I am sorry,” Karen replied. “I APOLOGIZE.” “Fuck off,” Kinley’s partner responded. “No, you’re not.”
The TikTok video has since garnered over two million views on the social media platform. The story has a striking similarity to that of “Soho Karen” Miya Ponsetto, who previously tackled a Black teen she accused of stealing her phone at a New York City hotel. Much like Spencers Karen, Ponsetto’s accusation was later proved to be false; an Uber driver returned her phone to the address. She now faces up to 10 years in prison on hate crime charges and charges of aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child.