Who is Ijeoma Ukenta? Black Muslim woman attacked by 'Karen' Abigail Elphick blames police
Abigail Elphick aka 'Victoria's Secret Karen' from New Jersey went viral on the internet overnight after the video of her trying to attack a Black woman surfaced online. The incident took place at a Victoria's Secret outlet in Short Hills Mall, New Jersey, where Elphick threw a tantrum and claimed the Black woman, Ijeoma Ukenta, is threatening her. Meanwhile, Ukenta filmed the entire episode and shared the series of videos on TikTok and YouTube, thereby exposing Elphick.
The Nigerian-American woman has now launched a GoFundMe for procuring her legal fees. She claims to have been wronged by not only Elphick but also the Millburn Police Department and Short Hills Mall Security. In fact, in one of her follow-up videos, Ukenta can be seen interacting with a police officer — who insisted that he doesn't "work for the mall". The police were slammed by netizens for doing an unsatisfactory job in handling the situation and failing to protect the Black woman.
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Who is Ijeoma Ukenta?
Ijeoma Ukenta, a Nigerian-American woman, is known for posting YouTube and TikTok videos of her day-to-day life and travel vlogs. She currently has over 13,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel, Mama Africa Muslimah. She posts videos of gardening and has posted an extensive vlog series on her travel to Senegal.
However, her TikTok was reportedly shut down after she posted about her ordeal. "I was kicked off a tiktok for posting what happened to me and they let someone else post and get millions and millions of views however they deleted 2 of my accounts of my accounts," she wrote on the GoFundMe page.
In the first part of her 'Karen' video series, Abigail Elphick can be seen trying to hit Ukenta behind the camera but as soon as she realizes that her movements are being captured, she starts crying and screaming for security while sitting on the floor. She can also be heard saying "Don't record me." In the second video, she can be seen sitting on the floor and shouting, "Get the f**k away." Elphick is later seen shouting "Get away from me" while herself running behind the Ukenta.
After the police reportedly failed to take adequate action against Abigail Elphick, the Black Muslim woman expressed that she had been wronged by "Abigail Elphick (Karen in my videos,) Short Hills Mall security, Millburn Police Department, and most of all humanity."
In her GoFundMe description, Ijeoma Ukenta wrote: "I am a Black Muslimah Nigerian AM and I was treated like it was 1920 in Short Hills Mall. I was assaulted and harassed by a white woman and nothing was done by security nor the police. I'm looking to hire me an excellent attorney who can help me bring light to this wrong. All videos and updates on the situation are on my YouTube channel: Mama Africa Muslimah. I was kicked off a tiktok for posting what happened to me and they let someone else post and get millions and millions of views however they deleted 2 of my accounts of my accounts. One that I have for my Garden which was my original account and another 1 that I created after they deleted my main account. I have been wronged Abigail Elphick (Karen in my videos,) Short Hills Mall security, Millburn Police Department, and most of all humanity. Please help me!"
At the time of writing this, the fundraiser had received contributions worth $63,813 from over 3,000 contributors, surpassing its $20,000 goal.