Who is Abigail Elphick? NJ 'Victoria's Secret Karen' fakes tears after trying to hit Black woman
A video of a White woman attacking Ijeoma Ukenta, a Black woman, went viral on the Internet on July 12, Monday. The incident took place at Victoria’s Secret outlet in Short Hills Mall, New Jersey and in no time the Internet found the new 'Karen'.
Abigail Elphick dubbed as the 'Victoria's Secret Karen' and 'Get her away from me Karen' is a New Jersey resident. In the viral videos, Elphick can be seen attacking the Black woman who is capturing Elphick's act on TikTok. In the first part of the video, Elphick can be seen trying to hit the woman 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" and then running behind the Black woman.
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Karen charges at a black woman and then turns on white woman tears when she realizes she’s being recorded. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/9gzksgorLN
— chris evans (@chris_notcapn) July 12, 2021
Who is Abigail Elphick?
Commentators outed the White woman as a 20 something-year-old teacher’s aide of Cedar Grove, New Jersey. As soon as Elphick's videos made their way to social media, people started requesting the school, Cedar Grove High School, where Elphick works to terminate her from her position.
Courtney Schultz posted the video on Facebook with a long message, saying, "Disclaimer: I did not film this video nor am I the victim of this ghastly miscarriage of justice. I wrote this post to shed light on this situation. This is Abigail Elphick. Abigail Elphick is a teacher’s aide that was recorded trying to assault a Black woman at the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey. The video begins with Abigail attempting to hit the woman behind the camera only to realize she’s being recorded. What follows is 20 minutes of white female privilege on display clear as day. First, she attempts to scream, demanding the Black woman be removed from the store. Once that didn’t work, she decided to fake a mental breakdown of some sort, gaining the sympathy of nearly everyone in the store DESPITE her being the aggressor in this situation. The woman behind the camera is asked to move away and put her phone away repeatedly as this maskless woman chases her around the store, threatening her safety and screaming at the top of her lungs. She pretends to faint and screams like a toddler for over 20 minutes, gaining the support and allyship of everyone in the vicinity while the Black woman is alone with just her and her camera. Once security arrives with zero urgency, they refuse to see the video evidence of this woman’s behavior, lie in the police report and stall any chances of an investigation taking place."
She further said, "I want you to understand that this is exactly what white privilege is. A woman of any other race would’ve been detained and carried out of the store. I don’t say this because I want other to be able to act this way and I don’t say this because I want other people to be treated this way. I say this to say that the denial of white privilege is a denial of reality. There is no accountability for the weaponizing of white tears and that has cost many people their lives and livelihood. This isn’t a joke and it’s not funny. Quite frankly, this video is traumatizing because Black people can do everything right and not only will we be automatically framed as in the wrong, but we will be denied the right to record the scenario for OUR evidence and OUR safety."
Several people reposted the video on several social media websites. One person said, "The minute the first video began playing, I started worrying for this filmer's life, thinking "God, don't let her get arrested. She might not make it to the jail." It should not be this way. #AbigailElphick #BlackLivesMatter." While some demanded Elphick's termination from the school where she teaches. One person tweeted, "(This is an option for those who get anxious when talking on the phone) TERMINATE ABIGAIL ELPHICK FROM CEDAR GROVE HIGH SCHOOL IN ESSEX COUNTY NEW JERSEY Elphick is TA and has attacked a black Muslim woman on video E-MAIL webmaster@cgschools.org AND DEMAND ELPHICK’S REMOVAL."
(This is an option for those who get anxious when talking on the phone)
— Angie (@AngieCantTweet) July 13, 2021
TERMINATE ABIGAIL ELPHICK FROM CEDAR GROVE HIGH SCHOOL IN ESSEX COUNTY NEW JERSEY
Elphick is TA and has attacked a black Muslim woman on video
E-MAIL webmaster@cgschools.org AND DEMAND ELPHICK’S REMOVAL pic.twitter.com/daCAU3A5ba
Making fun of Elphick, one said, "She screaming “get her away from me” but steadily running towards the woman lmaooo I can’t with Karens!" Calling the incident "crazy" another one said, "That incident in Victoria’s Secret in Short Hills Mall is crazy @VictoriasSecret y’all owe that woman an apology! @shorthillsmall just admit ppl of color aren’t allowed to be protected the same as other races. To think the aggressor is a school teacher #AbigailElphick #karen"
She screaming “get her away from me” but steadily running towards the woman lmaooo I can’t with Karens! 😂 https://t.co/A8hrj1xNH3
— Cassiana 🌺 (@MarieeCass) July 12, 2021
That incident in Victoria’s Secret in Short Hills Mall is crazy @VictoriasSecret y’all owe that woman an apology! @shorthillsmall just admit ppl of color aren’t allowed to be protected the same as other races. To think the aggressor is a school teacher #AbigailElphick #karen
— Skip Robinson (@coachskipbball) July 13, 2021
While some people got really angry and said, "This is not funny at all. I am truly terrified. Shit like this gets Black folks KILLED. Ruin her life." While one said, "I’ll retweet this video 6M times if I could. #AbigailElphick deserves public scrutiny for how she acted. She thought her white tears would get the lady filming in trouble. Cry me a River and miss me with that."
This is not funny at all. I am truly terrified. Shit like this gets Black folks KILLED.
— Proud Maryves (@AdamantxYves) July 12, 2021
Ruin her life.
I’ll retweet this video 6M times if I could. #AbigailElphick deserves public scrutiny for how she acted. She thought her white tears would get the lady filming in trouble. Cry me a River and miss me with that.
— Nadia Worsley | Publicist (@NadiaWorsley) July 13, 2021
The woman behind the camera, Ijeoma Ukenta, also started a GoFundMe fundraiser, titled, "Help me defend myself against Karen." The description of the fundraiser reads, "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 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!" The page has raised $21,249 of the $20,000 goal.
The minute the first video began playing, I started worrying for this filmer's life, thinking "God, don't let her get arrested. She might not make it to the jail." It should not be this way. #AbigailElphick #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/PBHaHBKasU
— Erin Brown is comprised of candy corn (@BabbleBrown) July 13, 2021