Viral video shows man yelling at Karen's Diner staffer for 'body shaming' by insulting his receding hairline
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA: A viral video shows an outraged customer shout at staffers of Karen's Diner in Brisbane, accusing them of bodyshaming him. The video was recorded and shared by TikTok user Bec Hardgrave, as she reviewed the controversial diner for her followers.
Karen's Diner is a popular chain of restaurants across Australia, providing a unique service - they insult you while serving your food. The viral video shows a man yelling at the staffer for making fun of his balding head even though the restaurant's house rules prohibits bodyshaming.
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@bechardgrave The guy at the end was sooo out of line! #karensdiner #restaurantreview #brisbane ♬ Sensual Seduction - Snoop Dogg
The controversial diner prides themselves on their famously "rude waiters" who mock the patrons in a variety of ways. However, this time the joke may have gone too far. The TikToker narrates, "Get this, they told this guy that he had a receding hairline, and this is what he did," before showing a man shouting at a staff member. "What's the one thing your f*****g sign says? No body shaming!" screams the man, while pointing towards the house rules pinned at the entrance of the diner.
As per reports, the diner's rules stated that their "jibes" cannot be racist, sexist or homophobic. Ableist comments or slurs are also forbidden. The rules also said that body shaming and sexual harassment would not be tolerated.
Hardgrave, the health and fitness coach who orignially filmed the video, wrote, "Felt so bad for the staff at this point," when the customer angrily yelled at the waiters and cursed at them. Despite her sympathy, she too stated earlier in the video that she would not be returning to the infamous diner, "Me and my friends went to Karen's Diner, and safe to say I probably won't come back," she said.
Speaking to her followers, Hardgrave says, "I know they're paid to be mean to you, but it was a little too hectic. They were making offensive comments about people's appearances," adding that they told one of her friends that she needs to "brush her hair" while another friend was "too old". She also relayed that the waiters came over to their table and threw cups at them. "How mean is that?"
The TikToker also revealed that the staff hounded a group of older women, asking them "to leave" repeatedly. "They said to leave over the mic and they had an alarm blaring and these ladies actually got up and left," she said, adding that she was not sure whether they "paid or not."
The comment section of the TikTok post was rife with people's opinions, ranging from disapproval for the diner to others in its defence. "You should all know the risks before entering. If you’re too soft, don’t eat there," advised one user, whose comment has fetched over 18,000 likes, while another noted, "Guy in the end was not out of line."
However, there have been several others who were quick to slam the restaurant. "Karens diner needs to end, the whole thing is a mess. They break their own rules and boundaries and then act surprised when people are upset," wrote one user. Another agreed, "Literally the guy at the end is in the right." Others pointed out that the whole interaction reeked less of acting like "Karens" and more of bullying. "There’s a difference between Karen’s and bullies," read one comment, while another added, "This restaurant is a MESSSS it’s not even about being a Karen it’s literally bullying lol.."
Several users even compared the treatment at Karen's Diner to the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment that presents psychological studies about human nature when assigned mock power as "guards" and their treatment of "inmates" inside the "prison setup". One user writes, "Karen’s diner kind of reminds me of the Stanford prison experiment- like it started off a funny little quirky thing and now the staff on a power trip."
At the same time, there were others who agreed with the man, until he did the same thing that he claimed to be a victim of. During his rant, he too had described one of the staff members as "that f*****g fat b***h". Several users pointed this out, writing, "Okay but the guy at the end legit body shamed hahaha," and, "That dude almost had me until he literally did what he was complaining about."
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.