With growing numbers of coronavirus cases, deaths, and a never-ending debate around mask mandates, tensions have reached boiling point in the U.S. with 2020’s infamous ‘Karen’ often at the centre of the controversy. However, those who thought ‘Karen’ was an American phenomenon are sadly mistaken after footage of Australia’s very own ‘Bunnings Karen’ hit social media.
The video shows a staff member from the Narre Warren Bunnings in Melbourne asking a woman if she has a mask. In case you missed it, face coverings were made mandatory in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire as of the 19th July in the wake of Victoria’s increase in COVID-19 cases. Hear all about it below:
The woman tells the Bunnings staff member, “you are not authorised to ask me or question me about” wearing a mask.
When another staff member tells her she needs a medical certificate to go maskless and asks her to stop filming, the woman says, “No, I’m allowed to do this and you’re discriminating against me.”
The woman then threatens to “personally sue” other staff members who inform her that wearing a mask is a condition of entry to their store. Later she claims those conditions of entry “don’t apply to me.”
Another video shows the woman interacting with a police officer, who explains that she has “breached the COVID-19 restrictions” by refusing to wear a mask. She tells him, “if you arrest me, I will have you charged with false arrest.”
A following video in the thread shows the woman being arrested in the carpark and an officer asking her not to resist.
It’s pretty difficult to watch ‘Bunnings Karen’ challenging the rules so aggressively when they’re designed to protect members of the community from getting sick. If anything, this video and all the other fellow ‘Karens’ floating around social media is just another reminder of what not to do amidst the global pandemic.
Hear the Chasers explain the new ‘Karendemic’ below:
Always be in the loop with our snackable podcast breaking the biggest story of the day. Subscribe to It’s Been A Big Day For… on your favourite podcast app.