MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Will 'Karen' be the most popular Halloween costume in 2020? Internet can't wait for the scariest mask ever

A Los Angeles-based artist's 'Karen' mask can scare the living daylights our of anyone and has created a lot of buzz but he's not the only one with this idea

You might have heard about ‘Karen’. It is the slang for an "obnoxious, angry, entitled, and often racist middle-aged White woman" who uses her privilege to get her way or call out others' behaviors. The moniker was first a verbal attack and soon was made into a meme. Now, the Internet is full of ‘Karens’ and it is indeed an over-used term used.

As per a Vice report, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios and Carowinds have all called off their annual Halloween events. Toms River, New Jersey, has canceled the country's second-largest Halloween parade (New York City's being the biggest), and just last week, Los Angeles County released Halloween guidelines and said there will be no trick-or-treating, no parties and no haunted attractions for any of its residents.

But that doesn’t stop people from selling or making costumes. As per New York Post, a Los Angeles-based artist’s “Karen” mask has created a lot of buzz on Etsy. Jason Adcock posted a photo of his handmade, latex mask, saying it’s never too early to get into the Halloween spirit. He wrote: "Kamorascostumes - on Etsy! It’s never to early to shop for #Halloween #costumes. 2020 is the year of the KAREN! Scare all ur friends with ur big hair and narrow mind. Full head latex mask painted with #timgoresbloodline and @createxcolors." This was on August 8. Then on August 10, he posted the photo of another mask and wrote: "I have taste, but I never said it was good taste... our newest action is KAREN-19 she thought she was slick calling you all sheep and look what happened!"

The two versions of the masks were being sold on Etsy for $180 per piece, Adcock told ‘Good Morning America’ (GMA) on September 15, but they’ve since sold out, he announced on Facebook, as per NY Post. The report states, "I will update if things change," Adcock wrote late on September 15. According to NY Post, he told GMA, "Karen is transcendent of all gender and size. She is just like a modern-day tyrant. Anybody evil can be a Karen."

According to Daily Mail, there are other retailers who are selling items to transform party-goers into an ‘authentic-looking’ Karen. As per the report, one Amazon retailer is selling an 'I Want To Speak To The Manager' sweatshirt, and an Etsy store is stocking a blonde, asymmetrical style wig known for being the stereotypical Karen hairstyle.

Twitter reacted to this development and there were a lot of opinions. One user said, "Wow people really do hate older women." Another said, "I love that people in restaurants who are asked to see their manager will not know if they are a real karen or not. they shuold all say 'good costume!' and laugh it off.” One user stated, "Can we please stop using my name as a negative! It’s getting old and is very offensive!!” Another said, “If THIS Karen shows up at my door, I'm repeating 'the power of Christ compels you'. Now where did I put my holy water?”

How did the name suddenly come to everyone's minds? While the origin of the name is unknown, there were quite a few instances when that name came into prominence — and mind you, the women labeled as Karens were not actually Karen. They could be anyone: from suburban shoppers to grocery-store owners and even women who wanted the pandemic to be over just because they wanted a haircut.

It gained momentum with the infamous May 2020 incident when Amy Cooper — a woman in Central Park called cops on a Black birdwatcher, Christian Cooper, because he had asked her to leash her out-of-control dog. Shocking as it may seem, newspaper headlines soon had punchlines like “Central Park Karen”. What's more, Christian's sister also called her a “Karen” on Twitter.