Real story behind the ‘Victoria's Secret Karen' video: Who is Abigail Elphick and what really happened

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

A video which had gone viral a few years back seems to have resurfaced. Abigail Elphick's very public meltdown was captured on camera by another woman, leading to her online moniker of 'Victoria's Secret Karen'. Abigail Elphick, the woman in the video, and Ijeoma Ukenta, the person who recorded it, also filed lawsuits against each other. (X/@krassenstein)
However, the clip didn't show the full story then, and neither does it tell the entire tale now. So, who is Abigail Elphick and what really happened?
What happens in the 'Victoria's Secret Karen' video?
The video shows a woman having a meltdown in a Victoria's Secret store and then chase around the person recording it.
It was taken in a New Jersey mall during Covid-era social distancing. Ijeoma Ukenta, the woman recording the video, had gone to the store to use a coupon for a pair of free underwear.
Elphick, who was also shopping there, got too close, leading to Ukenta asking her move 6 feet away. Elphick then complained to the cashier, and lunged at Ukenta as she began to record the incident.
Elphick then fell to the floor, sobbing and begging that the other person stop recording her 'mental breakdown'.
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The woman recording the video called security, while Elphick called the cops. The recording went on for 15 minutes. After the clips went viral some years back, Elphick earned the nickname 'Victoria's Secret Karen'.
However, court filings would go to show that not only did the clip not present the full picture, but also reduced a complex situation to a seemingly two-dimensional aspect.
What happened after the 'Victoria's Secret Karen' video?
After the cops and mall security arrived, Ukenta checked in, saying that the police report was 'somewhat true'. She also said that cops took Elphick's statement first and she 'completely lied'.
'She's trying to say I started videotaping her causing her to have a panic attack, at which time, she followed me to try to get me to stop recording,' Ukenta added, as per TheGrio.
She also said she'd be filing a complaint against the two officers who responded.
'I didn't feel protected,' she said, adding that she would also be filing a complaint against mall security.
She also filed a civil lawsuit against Elphick.
Legal filings shed light on true nature of encounter
Elphick, who was 27 at the time, was found to live in a complex for residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
As per the complaint filed by her lawyers, her behavior did not stem from 'race based' issues, but rather from fear that being filmed in such a state would leader her to lose her job and apartment.
Ukenta, however, in her lawsuit stated that she was motivated by fear, and added that she was 'keenly aware that if the police were called, she, a Black woman, may not be believed.'
Later, Elphick countersued Ukenta, saying her right to privacy was violated when the latter shared personal information on her. Meanwhile, Tom Toronto, – president of Bergen County's United Way which ran the residential complex where Elphick lived – said 'I was horrified.'
'She has a disorder. She has anxiety. She had a meltdown. Then the world we live in took over, and it became something entirely different than what it actually was,' The New York Times reported him say.