Target 'Karen' who trashed mask rack in Arizona store apologizes, says husband and clients have dumped her
An Arizona PR executive, who was dubbed as yet another 'Karen' for filming herself while destroying a rack of face masks inside a Target store while screaming that the pandemic is over, says she regrets her actions and is now seeking help. The woman, Melissa Rein Lively, had gone viral across social media after she took to Instagram on July 4 to share a video of herself throwing masks on the ground and screeching at two Target employees in Scottsdale, Arizona.
While she raved and ranted, she also boasted about her $40,000 Rolex watch. Lively says she is now remorseful about her behavior and claims that she had been going through a mental breakdown "due to stress related to the pandemic." She issued a statement to Daily Mail where she said, "I want to deeply apologize for my words and actions that took place earlier this month." She also shared that her husband filed for divorce and she lost all of her PR clients as a result of the incident.
"For the last year and a half, I have been facing a silent and debilitating experience with mental illness as well as other health diagnoses that recently escalated my condition and its severity," Rein Lively said. "I have accepted the medical help and professional intervention that is needed to establish mental and physical stability for myself and my family," she added.
This woman in Scottsdale, Arizona was super upset with Target for selling face masks. So upset in fact, that she attacked their display....pic.twitter.com/ye9LiDz0JH
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) July 5, 2020
The viral video showed Rein Lively taking down a display rack of masks in a Target store. She kept screaming, "This s**t's over, this s**t's over, this s**t's over. Woo! I don’t need this s**t. We don’t want any of this anymore, this s**t's over." Upon being confronted regarding her actions, she proceeded to claim that she was targeted as she was White. "Why? You let everyone else do it. Why? I can’t do it cause I’m a blonde, White woman? Wearing a f**king $40,000 Rolex? I don’t have the right to f**k s**t up?" she screamed at two Target employees.
In another video, authorities are seen approaching Rein Lively's home where she claimed that she was a spokesperson for President Donald Trump. She also claimed to be the spokesperson for the QAnon conspiracy theory that believes that there is a 'Deep State' secret plot against Trump.
She revealed how her husband Jared Lively had called up the police and she was taken in for a psychiatric evaluation and spent more than a week at a mental health facility. She added how she has been working closely with doctors to try and understand how exactly the episode had unfolded and how she had reached a point like that. "I have learned there are several serious underlying conditions that were untreated and triggered an episode due to extreme stress by the pandemic and everything else going on," the woman said.
"I really can’t express how scary the whole situation was and how out-of-control I felt and I wanted to share this so people know they are not alone in facing mental illness," she continued. She revealed that now she has no problem whatsoever in wearing a mask. She added how she and her husband have managed to save their relationship but has been receiving death threats over her behavior.
Rein Lively issued an apology to her co-workers, friends, and family and said she would regret the incident for the rest of her life. "For those my actions directly impacted, I am truly sorry for breaking your trust and flat out letting you down. Nothing gave me more pride and honor than the opportunity to represent my community and work in the professional realm that I did, I will regret those choices and the impact they had on my family, clients and friends for the rest of my life."
"Kanye West says being bipolar is his superpower. I intend to make it mine too. For now, I am just taking to day by day and doing what’s right for my mind, body and soul."