U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams tossed out Amy Cooper’s lawsuit on Wednesday. Cooper, also known as “Central Park Karen,” alleged her employer engaged in racist and sexist behavior by firing her.
She was fired once a video circulated of her calling the police on a Black birdwatcher, Christian Cooper (not related), in 2020. The video sparked much backlash on social media, nicknaming her “Central Park Karen.” Once the video made its rounds, her firm tweeted, “We do not tolerate racism of any kind.” The firm dismissed her shortly following the incident.
In May 2021, Cooper sued Franklin Templeton, alleging racial and gender discrimination. Judge Ronnie Abrams rejected the alleged claims in a 17-page ruling.
Cooper claimed that Templeton treated her differently than her three male employees who “engaged in misconduct ranging from insider trading to domestic violence.” However, Abrams ruled that the cases weren’t similar and there wasn’t enough to prove bias.
Abrams wrote that Cooper “cannot plausibly allege that she was subjected to a ‘company-wide double standard’ merely by identifying three male comparators who engaged in some — other — form of misconduct, but were not similarly fired.”
She also believes that Templeton’s comments saying, “We do not tolerate racism of any kind,” was an example of defamation since the video was “international news as a racial flashpoint.”
It wasn’t enough for the lawsuit to go any further, as Abrams’s case wasn’t taken seriously.
Templeton released a statement since the lawsuit was dismissed, saying, “We are pleased that the court has dismissed the lawsuit. We continue to believe the company responded appropriately.”
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