Who is Victor Kamara? NYC Black worker 'shocked' as 'Bagel Karen' Stephanie Denaro denies calling him 'N-word'
'Bagel Karen' Stephanie Denaro who called a Black employee at a New York City bakery a "b***h a** (N-word)" has been banned from Essex Market in Lower East Side, but the staunch anti-masker said she never called him a racial slur despite her racist rant went viral.
The bagel shop worker, identified as Victor Kamara, said he's shocked to hear Denaro’s claim. “Honestly, I really don’t know where that response comes from,” he told The New York Post on Wednesday, March 24. “I think that over a million people have seen the video and as it states in the video, she actually said those words… I feel like it’s an insult to everybody,” he added.
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Who is Victor Kamara?
The victim of Bagel Karen's verbal abuse has now been identified as Victor Kamara. The 30-year-old has been working at New York City's Davidowich Bakery for nearly two months now. On Sunday, March 21, an argument had erupted between Kamara and Denaro after he asked her to put on a mask and refused to serve her until she did. Recounting the incident, Kamara told the New York Daily News. "She was two customers behind the lady I was already serving." He had then told her: “Ma’am, you may have forgotten to wear your mask. You must wear a mask."
Captured in a video caught by a bystander at the bakery, can be seen with a baby in a stroller, and two young children next to her. The argument breaks out when Denaro says "I just want to order some bagels", thus earning the moniker 'bagel Karen'. One of the security guards at the place asks Kamara if he wanted to serve her for refusing to wear a mask. Kamara says he does not and the guard tells Denaro, a Trump-fan from Rosedale, Queens, “Ma’am, he’s not going to serve you, so please leave.”
Denaro can then be seen retorting "Why, cause he's a b**** a** (N-word)”, after Kamara asks her not to look at him a certain way. Another could be seen saying they would call the police, and Denaro leaves shortly after. Kamara, a treasured employee at the establishment, was later applauded by his bosses for the way he tackled the incident, considering he is a relatively new employee.
Woman banned from Essex Market
Following the incident, Davidovich Bakery released a statement on social media on Thursday, in full support of their worker for handling the situation so well. “We want to commend our employee on his handling of the sad incident which occurred at the Essex Market," they wrote. "As is true with any family, an attack on one member of the family is an attack on all of us. Davidovich is a family-run business and a family. We stand with all our employees for handling this situation of hate and bigotry with professionalism and grace. We intend to make it clear that this customer or anyone who uses racism and any insensitive language, simply is not welcome in our stores,” the bakery said.
The management also shared with TMZ that Denaro is banned not just from Davidovich Bakery, but from all of Essex Market in Lower East Side, around the shop's current location. Security guards are also allegedly asked to watch out for Denaro, who has since gone on a social media rant, defending her usage of the slur. An NYPD spokesperson said Wednesday that there's been no complaint or 911 call lodged by the department related to the incident.