Abigail Elphick Cedar Grove, NJ woman aka Victoria’s Secret Karen attacks black woman, calls cops on her. White privilege in full display.
Here we go again. A white woman has been captured on viral video attacking a black woman at a Victoria’s Secret outlet in Short Hills Mall, NJ only for her to turn around and blame the victim upon realising she was caught on video instigating an attempted beat down.
Despite video footage (see below) from the black woman showing her being set upon, the white woman, since come to be known as Victoria’s Secret Karen, a pejorative term to describe privileged white women who play the race card and air of disempowerment at the hands of a ‘wicked’ force (aka the black woman) – she went on to call police on her victim, while pretending all the while she is the victim.
“GET HER AWAY FROM ME’, the un-identified white woman wails over and over, before feigning a fainting spell as she attempts to portray herself as the victim while the black woman, Ijeoma Ukenta who was momentarily attacked retains her composure as she expresses incredulity at the unfolding behavior, which she continues to capture on video.
Commentators outed the white woman as a 20 something year old teacher’s aide, Abigail Elphick of Cedar Grove, New Jersey.
Ukenta who is seen filming despite the vocal objections of Elphick in the video says that she is compelled to continue recording in order to protect herself until police arrived. The woman would later say she feared the ‘white woman’ would make false claims against her and wanted video proof she was telling the truth.
White privilege explored
Posted a commentator on Facebook, in a seemingly accurate description of the unfolding scene:
‘At first, Victoria’s Secret Karen 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 mask less 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.’
Continuing, ‘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.’
The episode, which is believed to have been recent, led to some on social media wondering why store employees failed to intervene.
Wrote one commentator, ‘It doesn’t matter whether it was real or faked, the manager and the other employees did nothing to help the filmer or get any of the other customers away for safety purposes. They just continued ringing up people as if nothing was happening.
While another wrote, ‘If nothing else she should have been escorted out.’
The black woman is thought to now be raising a fundraiser to seek legal counsel.
Posted Ijeoma Ukenta who identified herself as a Black Muslimah Nigerian AM:
‘I was treated like it was 1920 in Short Hills Mall. I was assaulted and harassed by a white woman and and nothing was done by security nor the police. I’m looking to hire me 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.’
To date as of late Monday night, $20,749 USD of a $20,000 goal has been raised.
In an update, a representative for the Essex County Prosecutors Office told TMZ that it was investigating whether any laws were broken in the exchange.
