Woman Defends Trader Joe's Tirade Over Mask Requirement

LOS ANGELES, CA — A woman whose tirade over being asked to wear a mask at Trader Joe’s in North Hollywood is speaking out after nearly 15 million people viewed video of the incident on social media.

ABC7 tracked down the woman, who asked to remain anonymous but has found herself widely dubbed the “Trader Joe’s Karen” by critics. Although at one point she spoke directly into the cameras of other shoppers who recorded her, the woman now says her decision not to wear a mask despite the statewide mandate is being misrepresented.

"Unlike whatever lies they are putting out there, I had no political agenda," she told ABC7. "I had nothing. They might use whatever else I said later in my anger — it doesn't matter."

In the video, she can be seen throwing her shopping basket onto the ground and storming off shouting, “You’re (expletive) Democratic pigs, all of you.”

The woman said she has an unspecified medical condition that prevents her from wearing a mask and that she asked for permission from Trader Joe’s to shop without a mask. The state’s mask requirement specifically exempts people unable to wear masks due to medical conditions. But another shopper began harassing her for her decision not to wear a mask, she told ABC7.

“What happened to me should not be happening to anyone else,” she said.

Viral videos of such scenes have spread like wildfire across social media as mask mandates spark division across the country. There have been repeated incidents of violence at businesses where customers are required to wear masks. In Van Nuys, two men were arrested for attacking Target Security guards who asked them to don face coverings, according to the LAPD. A security guard at a Dollar Family store in Michigan was fatally shot after asking patrons to don a mask. And three McDonald's employees were wounded in a shooting in Oklahoma City after informing a customer of pandemic-related restrictions.

Across California, county health officials, including Los Angeles County County public health Director Barbara Ferrer, have reported receiving death threats for requiring residents to wear masks in public. This week, Hugo's Tacos announced that it will close its locations in Studio City and Atwater Village because of customers harassing and assaulting employees over being asked to wear masks.

"Our taco stands are exhausted by the constant customer conflicts over guests refusing to wear masks," company officials wrote in a notice to customers.

The controversy over masks exploded after President Donald Trump questioned the need for masks even as the health experts in his administration advised Americans to don protective gear to stop the spread of COVID-19. According to a Gallup poll survey, the issue has become largely politicized, with 75 percent of Democrats saying they had worn a mask in public compared to fewer than half of Republicans surveyed.