The “Central Park Karen,” who was filmed last summer calling the police on a Black birdwatcher and accusing him of attacking her, is now suing her former employer for racial discrimination.
Amy Cooper is accusing her former employer, Franklin Templeton, of depicting her as a “privileged white female Karen.” The lawsuit claims that the company didn’t interview Amy nor her victim, Christian Cooper, during its investigation.
In the federal suit filed in Manhattan court, Amy argues that she did not call the police on Christian because of his race. Instead, she says that she was frightened by the man, who was an “overzealous birdwatcher” that engaged in a feud between dog lovers and birdwatchers.
The “Karen” went viral in May 2020 when a video surfaced of her yelling at Christian and told a 911 operator that an “African American man” was “threatening” her as she walked her dog in Central Park.
Franklin Templeton terminated Amy one day after the incident, saying in a statement that it does “not tolerate racism of any kind.”
Following the racist rant, Amy was charged with third-degree falsely reporting an incident by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office last summer. However, the charge was dropped by prosecutors after Amy underwent therapy.
Amy Cooper seeks unspecified damages for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and racial discrimination.
