A new Halloween costume is going viral and not for a good reason.
This past weekend, a Twitter user called @thecroakerqueen posted a photo of a "Karen" costume — blonde wig, sunglasses and all — currently being sold at Spirit stores across the nation. And though this isn't the first meme-inspired offering to hit the market, it's already become a topic of discussion on social media, with many commenters criticizing the costume for making a stupid joke out of an ongoing issue that can potentially lead to police violence against Black bodies.
Related | 'SoHo Karen' Charged with Hate Crime
In response to the original tweet, several people called out the retailer for trivializing racism and making "everything involving our experiences... a joke," as @kdotice wrote.
and the scariest costume goes to… pic.twitter.com/AgCXEeE7SX
— Helen Shivers (@thecroakerqueen) October 3, 2021
Lol racism is just a joke these days https://t.co/uQA5BLAicT
— Scorpio King 🇯🇲 (@DeetsByDre) October 4, 2021
Everything involving our experiences is a joke 😒 https://t.co/1pW8fFYSuG
— Whats up Ki?! ♉🇧🇸 (@kdotice) October 3, 2021
Meanwhile, a user named @AsAaronSpeaks expressed his dislike for the costume in a viral tweet by writing, "I don't like how they're profiting from the very real issue of racism."
And echoing this sentiment was another person tweeting under the handle @nnekawith2ns, who (rightfully) called the costume "super wack."
"Absolutely nothing funny about a whole species of people that put Black people in danger of losing their lives with a simple phone call," they said, likely referencing the number of high-profile "Karen" incidents involving Black people, such as "SoHo Karen" Miya Ponsetto and "Central Park Karen" Amy Cooper, who called the police on a Black birdwatcher named Christian Cooper.
I don’t like how they’re profiting from the very real issue of racism. https://t.co/bEKsZD3bTj
— Andrew (@AsAndrewSpeaks) October 3, 2021
This is super wack. Absolutely nothing funny about a whole species of people that put Black people in danger of losing their lives with a simple phone call. 🙅🏾♀️ I hate it here.
— Bisquiteen Trisket (@nnekawith2ns) October 3, 2021
Spirit, however, has yet to respond to the criticism.
Photo via TikTok / @gucchiara