The California woman who went viral after she accused a Black minor of stealing her iPhone says she wishes she would have “apologized differently.”
Last year, 23-year-old Miya Ponsetto became “Soho Karen” after video footage showed her harassing, accusing and physically assaulting a 15-year-old boy after she believed he stole her phone in the lobby of the Arlo Soho Hotel.
After getting dragged online for her alleged racist behavior, she spoke out about the incident with “CBS This Morning” anchor Gayle King. During the interview, she seemingly minimized her acts and said she couldn’t be a racist because she is a “woman of color.” When King pushed back with questions about Ponsetto’s behavior, the woman cut King off, saying, “Alright Gayle, enough.”
Today, she says she regrets her decisions. “I just wish I had apologized differently,” she said. “I feel like I made a mistake,” she told The New York Post on Monday.
Ponsetto, who is in the process of going through a hearing for the case, has pleaded not guilty to hate crimes. In the meantime, she has been looking to take on therapy as well as anger management classes. Her attorney, Paul D’Emilia, says his client was “having trouble scheduling anger management sessions” but that he’d like her to attend. He added that he is “confident that when we are done with that we can reach resolution in this case.”
