You might think watching Karens on video spewing their entitled rants is bad enough, but have you ever wondered what it’s like to have a Karen under your own roof? Customer service workers, who so often face the wrath of a Karen, luckily get to go home at the end of their shift. No such luck for these Redditors, though—they get to go home to more of the same obnoxious bile. So, give your non-Karen family member a kiss, then read on and be amazed.
1. Apologies For My Karen
I was married to a male Karen. Everything—and I mean everything—would set him off. We were at a local taproom once and his iPhone automatically connected to the Wi-Fi. Keep in mind, he had full bars on our cell service. The Wi-Fi was being wonky and wasn’t working. The manager, who was a super nice guy, came over and asked us how we were doing.
The following horror ensued—my husband was super irritated at his own made-up problem because our cell service was actually working just fine and he could literally just turn off the Wi-Fi. My husband started off by saying that their Wi-Fi was trash. The manager said explained that they’d recently upgraded their internet, and the company was sending them a new modem.
My husband responded with: “If you say you have Wi-Fi, you should make sure it actually works.” The manager was still being super nice and said he’d be happy to restart the modem to see if that helped. My husband then ignored him and continued to talk under his breath. This was my life for almost five whole years. The sense of entitlement was frustrating enough in public, but even more so at home.
I had apologized to more servers, retail workers, neighbors, and random people on his behalf in five years than during the rest of my life outside of him. You know what, now that I’m talking about it, maybe he’s not so much a male Karen. He’s more like a piece of trash.
2. Used Car Karen
My mom is absolutely a Karen. I spend most of my time with her in public apologizing to people after she’s walked away. There is, however, one and one time only when it comes in handy—whenever I bought cars, I had her come in during the price negotiation phase and she knocked off thousands purely due to how unpleasant she was and how much people just wanted to get her out the door.
3. A Chilly Response
My aunt is a Karen. My uncle is this soft-spoken giant. He never stands up to her in any way...except once. At their daughter’s wedding, she was about to interrupt the ceremony to close a window because she was chilly. Everyone sitting close to her could hear her whisper: "I’m going to do it, but I don't want to be a jerk." My uncle, in a calm, quiet tone, said quickly, "Why stop now?"
It was almost as if his filter just missed this one. I swear I could hear my dad snort two rows back trying to hold in laughter. Karen was not happy.
4. A Bee In The Bonnet
My mom's a Karen. She is aware that she is a Karen. My siblings and I even send her memes about it. When my stepdad divorced her last summer, we were all amazed he lasted 17 years, to be honest. None of us like going out with her. It's terrible and my husband just straight up tells her "No, you aren't talking to the manager" when we go in a place.
I'll tell you guys a story my stepdad told us: he's a farmer and he owns a small beef and bee farm. They have a store they go to for bee supplies. The owner called my stepdad and asked him to be the one to pick up their stuff, and the reason was hilarious—his staff was simply exhausted dealing with my mom. He ended up being the only one who went to the store for the next five years.
5. DIY Karen
When I worked at the Home Depot, a Karen told me that she didn't want any Black men to install her flooring. I was in charge of arranging her order, so I told her that we don't select which individuals exactly will install her floor and that she'll get who she gets. She proceeded to have a fit about it. She started yelling at me, asking me for my manager.
And I'm so glad she did because guess what: my manager's name was Dwayne and he was a real big Black dude. Turns out she didn't want to speak to the manager after all.
6. Heart Of Gold, Hair Of Silver
My mom is a literal Karen, as in...it’s her name. But she’s like a bizarro Karen. She will constantly ask to speak with managers, supervisors, and bosses. But when they arrive, she pulls a total 180—she unloads compliments about the employee helping her out, saying he or she was fantastic, hardworking, and friendly. And then she’ll spend 20 minutes trying to figure out if she and the manager know someone in common.
Nine times out of 10, they do. As a kid, it would embarrass me, but as an adult, it’s one of my favorite things about her. She makes people feel good about the work they do—and it’s really special to watch how wonderful she makes people feel. Plus, she’s got long gorgeous silver hair.
7. Sister Karen
My sister is a Karen. Everyone feels so sorry for her husband. Everything is his fault. He is treated like a slave. She only addresses him by yelling. She constantly insults him and we have no idea why he hasn't divorced her or flipped out and attacked her. We have all told her to cool it, but her response, which is always the same, just makes our blood boil—she simply says that he's just so stupid.
I could go on and on but my sister really is a horrible person.
8. Trailer Park Karen
My mom was a total Karen. She was very entitled, and for no good reason. She raised me in a trailer park. One day, she suddenly decided she wanted a dog. After a few weeks, she says she didn’t like it anymore and kept it tied up outside for 24 hours a day. The trailer park manager left a note saying she would have to bring the dog in or get rid of it because, well...duh.
She did not like that one bit—she decided to barge into his office, tell him he had no right, and that she was going to keep the dog however she wanted. She blew into the house a few minutes later saying that we were getting evicted. I was 14 at the time. I had to go to the manager myself, apologize for her, and promise to find a home for the dog so that my sister and I weren't homeless.
9. Karen Passes Bill
I’m married to someone with a Karen for a sister. My sister-in-law is the freaking worst. I hate going out to dinner with her more than anything. I have to listen to her order food and talk down to the servers. Holidays are also terrible—she sends out long lists of the gifts she expects. She celebrates every holiday and birthday specifically for presents—even when it is not appropriate.
One time, while I was away from the dinner table, the bill came and Karen waited for me to return so I could pay the bill. She actually handed it to me. She didn't give it to her sibling—my significant other—or pay her half, but expressly handed it to me to pay. Well, here's the worst part—I did pay. There are many reasons as to why, but the biggest one is that it got me out of the restaurant faster.
Also, I paid because it helps me control the tip. Another time, we went to a family brunch where the bill was split—Karen waited to see what other people tipped so she could lower the overall tip percentage for the waitress to what she thought she deserved. We didn't know this until afterward when she bragged about it—no one even knew to stop her.
She is invited to these family meals because she has two children with whom we want a relationship...so she has that emotional blackmail card. By the way, her husband is an idiot and they are a match made in heaven.
10. Karen Tornadoes
My sister and sister-in-law are both Karens. I will show up to restaurants 15 minutes early to warn the staff. I tell them if it's not done to their liking, they will hear about it and they will make their shift infinitely horrible. I'm just there as a warning. I used to work in restaurants and those kinds of people made my life miserable.
As soon as those two tornados walk in and everything goes down the tubes. Complaints include: not enough ice, the table is too cold, it's too loud, etc. I also tip really big, because I don’t want to be associated with the two tornados. I live overseas, so I only see them two weeks out of the year. I would get rid of them if I could, but there's one critical thing that prevents me from doing so— they could take my nieces and nephews away from me.
I pick my battles. I need my niece and nephew to know I'm always here for them. I can't risk our relationship being tampered with. I have stood up to both of them plenty of times but I'm not about to have an argument every time I see them. After living overseas, I have realized how valuable family is and I need to accept someone—family or otherwise—for who they are and nothing more.
11. Tentatively Warm Karen
I'm in the middle of divorcing a Karen. Nothing was ever good enough for her—everything had to be the most expensive thing, and even then it still wasn't good enough. It was exhausting and it sucked the passion I had for life out of me. She never said nice things about me. When my best friend came over for a BBQ with his wife and kids, she and her mother just mocked me the whole time.
Even on our wedding day—you know, during the part where you say nice things to each other—she managed to ruin the day completely. Her chosen words sounded like a tentatively warm school report card. The nicest thing I remember her saying about me was: "I like how you make the salads. It's better than how I make it." The whole wedding, that's the best I can think of.
12. The Mothership Of Karens
My mom is a Karen whose name is actually Karen. I haven’t seen her in over a year because I couldn’t take it anymore. Living with her was just an exhausting nightmare. Karen’s world revolves around Karen. Nobody else’s issues matter. If you tell her that you had a bad day, she’ll give you 20 reasons why her day was worse. Did you work 60 hours this week? Well, when she was your age, she would work 80.
You’re in the hospital after having major surgery? She has a pinched nerve in her arm, which is somehow much, much worse. Your boyfriend cheated on you? She couldn’t even begin to tell you about all the heartbreak she’s experienced in her life. She complains left and right about anything and everything. If you’re taking a week's break after just getting back from college, she’ll ask why you haven’t gotten a job yet—and claim you’re lazy.
If you’re out to eat at a restaurant, the food is always too cold, or too burnt, or too salty. You can only ever go to the places SHE wants to go to because everything else is horrible. During my entire graduation dinner, she complained about how cold the food was. She thrives on getting attention and constantly seeks it, but she has very few actual friends. Facebook is her lifeblood and she’s always looking to start something on there.
She’s the queen of sharing uninformed, misguided, conservative propaganda—which always starts fights in her comments. All of those things are bad enough, but she really takes things to the next level when a tragedy happens in the family—like when my teenage cousin unexpectedly and tragically passed—she’ll make a big scene on Facebook and expect condolences from anyone and everyone.
She’ll even take detailed notes of the people who don’t give her what she wants. Don’t even get me started on the blatant racism. I’ve heard everything from, “Watch out for Black people on the subway. They’ll try to take your purse” to “It should be illegal for those Muslims to cover their faces. You should be able to see someone’s face.” One of my best friends is Black and she once told me, “He’s one of the good ones. They should all be like him.”
Minor, but the house always has to be spotless. Do you have a shirt on your bedroom floor? "Pick it up, slob! We have people coming over"—no we don’t, and even if we do, why would they be going in my bedroom? Her house is HER house, and she’ll let you know. Any object she has spent money on doesn’t belong to you, it belongs to HER.
She also spends way too much money on home decor like oriental rugs, furniture, etc. but then complains about how she has no money.
13. This Karen Means Well
My mom is a Karen and it is not fun. The worst part is, I think she was part of the reason the girl I loved left. Whenever she was around, my mom behaved much better and put on a nice face. We argued frequently about my relationship with my mom. It hurt a lot. The pain of losing the girl I loved—in a way I didn't think I was able to love—is the greatest pain in my life.
I love my mom very much, and she is generally a very nice person. I've spent a good while trying to put it to words accurately, but it's difficult. Everything is very minor and very subtle, but it’s constant. It's a “not what she does, but how she does it” sort of thing. She doesn’t try to hide her behavior when in public, she just tries to put her best face forward when around others.
I don’t know if she is aware of what she does when at home, because it is so minor and subtle—but I have a difficult time believing that since it is constant. She doesn't control my life or actions. The pain she causes is dwarfed greatly by everything she has done for me. Without her, I wouldn't have made it where I am today, and I am extremely thankful and lucky to have her in my life despite the pain.
I do not think I will cut her out of my life. Less frequent contact helps, but she is not so great a terror that no contact ever is needed. I look forward to seeing her spoil my grandchildren, and know she will trust me to raise them, and not try to take over and do it herself.
14. Karen Left High And Dry
I was married to a Karen for many years. I’m sure the question on everyone’s mind is, “Was she like that at home?” The answer is: abso-freaking-lutely. She was the kind of Karen who needed everything to be absolutely perfect or she'd complain...at restaurants, stores, anything. At home, it was worse. I couldn’t do anything right.
As far as any ambitions or dreams that I had: I wasn’t good enough, so why try? Ugh. I’m so glad I divorced her! There is a bonus to this tragic story. She hired a lawyer for our divorce and he was an incompetent idiot. He wrote the paperwork up wrong, and because of that, she won’t get anything from my retirement.
15. Karen Turns Over A New Leaf
Early in our marriage, I started seeing some Karen tendencies in my wife. It started because companies were legitimately jerking us around on things we needed, and she was trying to be more assertive. Initially, she had it compartmentalized. She'd turn it on when she needed it, and turn it off once things were getting resolved.
Unfortunately, she started losing her ability to keep it segmented, and this entitlement mindset started bleeding into other interactions. I didn't like the direction it was headed. I finally said something one night after she'd gone into a store to return something. She told me about how she gave the employee heck because of how terrible the return policy was.
So I just asked her: "An hourly employee, with no say in the matter, upheld the company policy—as she was trained to do—and you thought it was appropriate to give her a talking to for that? How do you think that made her feel? I think you owe that woman an apology, and I think if you take a minute to think about it, you'll do the right thing." She argued with me for a few minutes, because she felt like I was attacking her.
But to her credit, she walked herself back into that store and stood in line for 10 minutes to apologize. That was a turning point for her, I think. Since then, even when people have legitimately screwed up, she's been much more patient, understanding, and polite. I'm grateful she was open to my critique because I have other Karens in my extended family, and I don't know if I could be with someone like that.
16. Karen Monitors The Bedroom
My brother was married to a Karen. She loved to berate people, and rarely went anywhere without a flask of booze to fuel her fire. She despised kids and wasn’t quiet about it. In the first year of marriage, she laid down a really frustrating "rule"—she decided that her husband had to earn the right to be intimate with her. So, if she didn’t like the way he painted the shed, groomed the dog, or poured his cornflakes—and she never did—there was no reward in the bedroom.
After 10 years he divorced her, moved to another state, and married a kind-hearted, generous, empathetic lady. Karen still can’t understand why he dumped her “perfect” derriere.
17. Kindergarten Karen
We’re not married, but we went through four years of a toxic relationship. I broke up with her on Monday...again. We're kind of messed up financially, so we are just feeling things out for a month before we decide for sure. This cycle of our relationship seems to be on repeat. When we’re out, I constantly have to cut her off and speak over her because of the way she treats people.
She tells off waiters, sales assistants, gym staff, neighbors, landlords, randoms we meet in bars—you name it. We were both waiters at the beginning of our relationship, so she has worked in the industry, but she still lacks empathy. She blames the waiter if something is out of stock etc. But I have another major issue.
We are both ESL teachers. She teaches kindergarten, while I teach high school. We are now working from home, and I hear how she speaks to her students. It's really opened up another aspect of her personality that I don't like. She will berate a student for not understanding instead of evaluating her ability to explain.
Berating a three-year-old child in their second language doesn't fly with me. A lot of her behavior stems from a self-defense mechanism due to insecurity, but that's not an excuse. She doesn't realise how mean she is to people—including myself. I'm a people pleaser that would rather sacrifice my own comfort than someone else's.
She expects me to harass people because I'm a biggish guy with tattoos, and I don't exactly look soft. It's super toxic. The fact that she’s really good in bed doesn’t help me dump her.
18. We Need To Talk About Karen
My ex-wife could be considered a Karen. Her outbursts would stem from the simplest of things; all the usual suspects that make people insecure. Things like obvious rejections, the insults, and failure she managed like a normal person; but somehow, she would find those things in almost any situation. Let me give you an example.
She missed her train home one day and called to ask if I could pick her up from the next town over rather than wait for the next train—a whole 20 minutes! When I got there she was waiting on the side of the road, and I could not park properly, so I blocked the road and waited for her. She proceeded to make things worse—she just stood there and didn’t even try to get to the car.
When I asked what the problem was, she complained: "A gentleman would open the door." Once in the car, she then complained that I took ages to get there, and moaned about how I didn’t greet her lovingly. I didn't really care by then, but not once did she even thank me. I would have just preferred she did not, by default, berate me.
After many situations like that, I realized everything I was putting in the relationship—as a people pleaser—would come back as punishment from the Karen. Anyway, she's an ex-wife now. I don't regret marrying her, I do regret staying with her longer than I should. That is the only advice I can give to others who somehow wound up with a Karen.
19. Karenology 101
I dated a Karen for a while. Yes, the booty is the reason I stayed as long as I did. This is always how it went down: Whenever I raised my dander from annoyance to “What is wrong with you," that's when the flirty side came out. Like, she knew that she'd crossed a line, and so she tried to fog my mind with an amazing time in the bedroom.
That's an easy formula for things to turn toxic. She's associated intimacy with calming me down after she's made me angry. So, if she's looking for a little lovin’, clearly she has to get me angry first, so there's something she can do to make it up to me. Meanwhile, every time she raises my ire, in the back of my head, there's a part of me that likes it because hey, I know what’s going to happen next.
For however long I’m angry right now, this is going to end in an awesome time in the bedroom—or anywhere else I guess. So how can I hold a grudge?
20. Karen Loses Son
My mom is a bit of a Karen, and we pretty much have no contact now, so that should tell you everything you need to know. Whenever we’d go out to eat, the food is always too cold, or they don’t have the brand of sparkling water she likes, or they’ve put ice in her drink when she didn’t want it. She always has to make some kind of modification to her order, etc. The list goes on.
It got to the point where, if we were out shopping and she said she needed to return something, I wouldn't even think twice about what to do next—I'd just go somewhere else, because I couldn’t stand watching her be rude and argue with the staff. My parents are divorced, and I live with my dad now instead. Part of the reason I barely see my mom is because I’d have to meet her in public—go for a coffee or something—and I just can’t deal with the way she behaves in these places so I don’t go.
21. Buttering Up The Server
My mom is a Karen. She literally can not help but tell other people her opinion. She genuinely sees it as doing everyone a favor. It destroys her relationships with my siblings. None of my brothers or sisters will talk to her. Here's the perfect example of her “Karenness.” Like a lot of these stories, this happened in a restaurant.
A few years ago, we went out to eat. The restaurant served bread and butter before the meal. The butter was whipped. My mom—the former dairy farmer’s daughter—insisted they bring her “real” butter. The waitress went back to the kitchen, came back, and told her what she had was butter. My mom, who apparently is infallible in her ability to detect butter, started acting like a completely horrible person to the waitress about it. “She knows what real butter tastes like.”
I go to this restaurant often—and my kids are there too—so my first instinct was to apologize to the waitress. That was a bad idea. As soon as I did, my mom went into a rage about respecting your elders and walked out of the restaurant. To this day, she still won’t admit she was unkind to the waitress.
22. Ten Years Of Absolute Misery
I was married to Karen, and it was absolutely embarrassing. It cost me many good friendships. I was with the armed forces and she would continually cause drama with the other wives while wearing my rank on her sleeve. She was the first person to judge everybody. She always had the attitude that she was better than everyone (and still does from what I've heard). She'd flip out on servers, and I would have to straight-up sneak tip them.
Well after a few different duty stations—and a lot of burnt friendships—I was getting tired of it. I would look forward to going on my deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. On my last one, she decided to pull the last straw—she cheated on me with my "best friend." Gotta love it! I was immediately told about it— I'm not sure if it was because I was well-liked, or she was well hated.
Anyway, this was my THANK GOD moment. I would be the first one in my family to get a divorce and not get judged too hard for it. Plus, I'd finally end 10 years of absolute misery. So, fast forward to today...my ex-best friend—thanks for the solid dude—and my ex-wife ended up getting married. But if there is one thing you don't do, it’s cheat on your deployed husband.
This is very poorly looked upon by everyone in the service and you'll be excommunicated by the community. The other thing you don’t do is start a marriage based on cheating. So, from what I heard—not that I really care—is that she is divorcing him for cheating on her. Also, she is no longer allowed to be on the post for shacking up with another married dude, while his wife was deployed. The circle of shame continues!
23. My Karen-In-Law
My sister-in-law is a Karen, and her name is very close to "Karen." Here’s one of her most recent masterpieces. Her daughter had a big choir performance one night. My family, her family, and my father and mother-in-law were going to meet for dinner and then go to the show. My neighbor owns a very nice Italian restaurant in town, so I set something up there.
My neighbor had arranged for us to have a big table ready when we got there. My family of four was halfway to the restaurant when my wife decided to check in with her sister with a text message. My sister-in-law, the Karen, immediately called back and casually said she was running late—she is ALWAYS late—and that it would be best if we drove to their house to pick them up.
To this day, I don't understand how that would help the situation, and we had a rather tight window to have dinner. Anyway, Karen threw a huge fit when my wife pushed back, so we turned around, picked them up, and drove to the restaurant. When we sat down, her "Karen" started showing real bad. and she scanned the menu, asked the waitress questions, then told her a couple of times she was not ready to order.
Meanwhile, we were all openly reminding her that we were on a tight schedule. Doesn't matter!!! Karen WILL NOT be rushed. It should be noted that my neighbor's restaurant has a single-page menu that doesn't change, and she had been to the restaurant MANY TIMES. By the time she decided what she wanted to order, we realized we wouldn't have time to eat.
She gave all sorts of hassles to the waitress: demanding to-go boxes for our meals that were just now being served. My neighbor then came to our table to figure out what was going on, and she immediately stood up to try to explain... while throwing the waitress under the bus. As we were leaving, I pulled my neighbor and the waitress aside to tell them what REALLY happened and profusely apologized.
24. Bestie Can’t Take It
My best friend married a Karen. This woman is a whole different level of Karen. My buddy makes a large six-digit salary but has to work cycle shifts away from home. She has the option to move so they can live as a family, but refuses to because she has what she calls a “career.” She sells scents and works a clerk job at an HR office.
They have two kids and she can't handle them. She makes him drive home from work every day so she can work out for 30 minutes in the evening. It's a seven-hour commute. He had to buy another vehicle because he couldn't take the company vehicle back and forth—too expensive and dangerous. Also, when she's working at home, he has to leave the house with the kids and can't come back until she says it's okay.
She has insane spending habits and buys unnecessary stuff from Amazon, Scentsy, and other MLM products. She made him buy a luxury camper ($40k) so she could visit him at work and went only one time. She puts the kids in daycare, even though it costs them more than she financially makes. She wants huge renovations done but refuses to watch the kids while he does them.
Any negative thing that happens in her life: it’s his fault. And he has to fix it immediately—no matter the cost. She texts and calls him every 10 minutes at work to complain about him being away from home and how the kids drive her crazy. She makes him attend job fairs in hopes that she'll find a job making just as much money. It won't happen, but he does it anyway.
This one, however, gets me the most—she'd rather pretend to have a really good career than move with him. They'd save lots of money and they would be a much better parenting team! It frustrates me because my time with him has literally become therapy sessions where he vents for hours. It's brutal and I hate that he tolerates it.
25. When A Karen Snaps
I have Karens for parents and let me tell you: it’s awful. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I got some money in gift vouchers from different charities. So, I went out and brought some decent headphones. One day, they just snapped and my sister saw what happened. All I did was bend them slightly to place them on my head and they snapped.
My dad was angry, and the next day, he grabbed my wheelchair and took me back to the shops. He got me to take off my chemo cap and made me sit in my wheelchair. He wheeled me in the shop and that's when he blew up. He ended up getting into a screaming match—ordering a manager and a supervisor—and said “Look at her.” At some point, my sisters left the shop and just cringed outside.
My dad wouldn’t let me leave or wheel myself out. The whole time, I was beet red and had my head in my hands. When they wouldn’t help him, he threw the broken headphones into the metal trash can for receipts: I remember hearing it rattle. He stormed out calling them terrible names. As I was being wheeled out, I looked up and mouthed “I’m so sorry.”
26. Facebook Is Karen’s Kingdom
One of my cousins is married to a Karen. He lives at the office day and night just to hide from her. We also suspect he’s not faithful from time to time. She was a very slow hatching Karen, so he was basically trapped on a ship with a “xenomorph” and didn’t know it. Once they tied the knot and baby number one arrived, she took her ultimate Karen form.
I won’t go out to eat with them, because she will complain about everything the whole time. Facebook is her kingdom, and the other Karens reinforce these terrible behaviors by liking all of her posts. Her favorite activity is complaining about how hard it is being a full-time mom—even though her kids are in school and she has a housekeeper.
27. “Karenasaurus” Rex
I was married to a Karen. She was very nasty and could not lose an argument. She was physically and mentally abusive. But the worst thing she would do is, if she had the idea that I might walk out on, she would physically corner me and scream in my face for over an hour. She'd try to egg me into touching her so she could "Call 9-1-1 on me for assault."
She rear-ended someone in her Geo Tracker—the poor woman's Karenmobile. The accident only shattered her grille. I went to a few Pick ’n Pulls to see if I could find a new grille. There were No Geo Tracker grilles, but I found a Chevy Tracker grille. I bought it—but I had to have permission to spend a dime, so I told her I got a Tracker grille.
Unfortunately, she saw the grille before I had a chance to de-badge it and put it on her Tracker with the Geo logo. That resulted in two weeks of torment from her. I told her I'd take it back and get a Geo Tracker one...and I did take it back...but I still had my devious plan in mind. I went and found the badge I’d seen the other day (that wasn't sun-faded like hers), stuck it on the Chevy Tracker grille, and installed it.
She had no clue about my deception. She did, however, go on for days about how stupid I was to buy a Chevy grille, which was obviously not the same vehicle, and how she had to wait a whole extra day to be able to drive it to work. She also went on to complain that I should have used the original badge so it wasn't obvious, even though that's what I did.
It was also my fault she rear-ended the guy. My fault her brakes weren’t good. My fault that she drove the faster route I found to her work. My fault that she still worked there. My fault I didn't force her to move to San Diego. My fault I didn't make her a new child. All my fault. When she couldn't win a fight, the past would win it for her.
If that wouldn't win, she would get straight abusive until I would submit. After I left her—which was the second largest battle and longer story—I found out that she cheated on me with every male employee she worked with on "business trips." And yes, it was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scenario. All the way up to the wedding, she was outwardly a great person. The wedding changed her into Karenasaurus Rex.
28. Karenism Explained
My girlfriend desperately wanted to be a Karen when we were younger until she started losing all of her friends. Then she started losing all of my friends, and we discussed in a healthy manner how unhealthy and unattractive rudeness is. But the worst part is, in her head, it was because that’s how she needed to act in order to ever feel like she's being heard.
So, I made a point to be more aware and she made a point to be less rude. Now, disagreements are normally thought out. Our big problem has always been that I react by calculating and thinking things out, and she reacts by whatever the most powerful emotion she’s feeling tells her to do. We both have worked on that.
The problem is soft-spoken women are almost always walked on, especially in scenarios where they aren't satisfied: you can almost hear the New York deli guy going "Listen, lady..." (cringe). So you start Karen-ing and it gets immediate results.
29. Polite Request From Karen
My mom is a Karen. Literally, her name is Karen. But she is like a complete angel. So selfless, so loving, and so pure. I have never met anyone who has the heart she does. I swear I think she is just an angel god placed on this earth. Anyway, she is pretty upset about this “Karen” thing going on. She doesn’t understand why people are attacking her.
She thinks she’s been nice to everyone, and she has. She’s truly amazing. But she doesn’t understand why this is a thing. She would like to kindly request that we change “Karen” to “Susan” and I agree. She doesn’t deserve a meme about her. Her heart is too pure.
30. Gloves Come Off
My aunt is a Karen. She is exactly what a Karen is portrayed as. Everyone hates her. At a recent family reunion, my mom had had enough of my aunt apparently, and got into a huge argument with her—I can’t remember what it was about. I went to try and break it up, and as soon as I got to them, my mom delivered the final blow: “You’re such a despicable person,” she said, before decking her.
My mom walked away and I stood there trying not to laugh. My aunt started crying.
31. A Coven of Karens
I’m surrounded by Karens. They’re everywhere. First off, my father is the biggest Karen of them all. He's just insufferable out in public if everything isn't his way. He refuses to wait in any line that is more than 30 seconds of wait time. Absolutely everything has to be his way or the highway....these are his words, not mine.
My mother-in-law is also a full-blown Karen. Just the worst. She makes everything about her. Everything. If it's not, she will make a scene or a fuss and turn all the attention on her. How she reacts afterward boils my blood—without fail, she'll play the victim. It's nuts. My wife is a Karen in training. Her shyness keeps her from being a full-blown Karen, but behind closed doors, everything is gaslighting and my fault.
32. Karen, Meet Kevin
Karens tend to marry Kevins. Kevins drive trucks even though they work in offices. They think the check-out ladies are flirting with them, and start fights over parking spaces. They're the jerks that rush to overtake you and then slow down. They flirt with the waitress while their wives are in the bathroom, but only tip ten percent.
Kevins have “conceal carry” permits for their pistols, but let everyone know they conceal carry, by showing them off every chance they get—with trigger discipline. They also think calling Black people “urban youth” means they're not prejudiced, and they like to unironically wear T-shirts that threaten their daughter’s dates.
They let random law enforcement officers know that they pay their wages, every chance they get. But their darkest tendency is that sometimes they hit their wives, and they certainly hit their kids. It's easier than talking to them.
33. Husband Picks Up The Pieces
I am divorced from my Karen. I went into our local video rental store once and the owner looked at me while shaking his head. Apparently, that she had closed our account in a huff over incorrectly applied late fees. I would have a quiet conversation with the manager, during which I would apologize for whatever she had said, and he would then reinstate my account with no late fees.
I can only imagine the scenes she caused there that resulted in our account getting closed. I realized later that these interactions at the video store were a microcosm of our entire relationship. She went about in a righteous huff wreaking havoc in all areas of our life. In the meanwhile, I was left to pick up the pieces.
34. Snow White Becomes Evil Karen
When I first met my wife, she was beautiful in every single way. I remember looking at her as she spoke to the ducks at the lake. I thought: "I'm going to marry this beautiful Snow White". She loved all animals and they loved her right back. Her soul was pure. She looked like a queen in everything she wore, be it jeans or a sundress. She was never a princess-type woman; she was always destined to be my queen.
I'm not sure when she changed, but slowly and surely, she did. She humiliates me, she belittles me, and she saddens me. I'll never be right or even acknowledged to have a valid point or opinion. She wastes money that I work hard to earn. But the thing that gets me the most is that she has strategically spaced out our pregnancies to maximize the time she doesn't have to return to paid work. She has admitted this.
Why don't I leave her? Better the devil you know, aye?
35. Karen Sufferer Hits The Jackpot
I have two exes that were both borderline Karens. Both were extremely frustrating people. They couldn't take the blame or responsibility for anything! I still remember one of them being absolutely furious with me for not answering her calls—despite the fact that her calls weren't coming through because my workplace had no signal at the time.
I had another who treated me like an absolute idiot. I used to drive to her places all the time, but when my car broke down, she came to mine and always made a fuss about giving her gas money. I argued at first, considering I normally paid for everything and never asked her for anything back. I figured then that giving her the gas money was also kind of a way of paying her to shut up.
She'd also make a massive scene when something didn't go her way. I still remember her screaming at her dad about something so insignificant, and I was absolutely embarrassed for her. How on earth does a grown adult think and act so entitled? Still, we got engaged—I now have no idea why I did that—and an ex of mine, who I hadn't heard from for a long time, asked if she could come to this big celebration we were having.
I told my then-girlfriend about this weird email and she totally flipped out—she accused me of cheating on her with this ex of mine. She said, "You guys must be seeing each other if she's contacting you!!!" Then she ran off to tell my parents I'd been cheating on her.
That was a big ugly mess to clean up. The break-ups were interesting. I broke up with the first one in my car when dropping her off at home after having our 500th argument of the week—it was still only Monday, too! She properly ugly cried in the car and refused to leave. She was coughing and spilling everything from the contents of her nose everywhere.
I just stayed quiet and eventually, she quietly left. It felt like forever though. It was by far one of the most uncomfortable moments of my life! But it wasn't over yet. She proceeded to tell a few of my good friends we broke up because I took advantage of her, so yeah—another horrible mess to clean up. I even had to go to the authorities about that.
The second girl took it better, but still made it her life's mission to rip me to pieces every time we were out with friends—we had some friends in the same circle, and she'd always be out when I was out with a particular group. It makes me so grateful for the wife I have now. I don't know what the opposite of a Karen is, but she is absolutely it!
She's understanding, extremely generous, kind, caring, empathetic, sweet, considerate, and respectful. I've hit the jackpot, and by God do I know it!
36. Son Teaches Karen A Lesson
What is the male equivalent of a “Karen”? Because whatever that is, that’s my father. I worked at a call center in customer service for close to seven years and was working up to management. In that time, I figured out what works, as a customer, to get what you want, and what sure doesn’t. One day, I was listening to my dad on his phone argue with someone at a Best Buy about an expired promotion.
My dad said the promotion should still apply to his recent purchase. He was getting to a point where he was demanding it and citing the “thousands of dollars” he spends with Best Buy—he goes there maybe twice a year to look for deals. The rep, bless them, stood their ground and refused to honor an expired promotion. Then my dad slammed the phone down.
I attempted to explain to him how he maybe could have gotten the discount and or refund if he’d been more accommodating. He replied to me: “That never works.” I argued back saying that maybe, just maybe, as a rep with years of experience, I might know what I’m talking about. He didn’t believe me, so I called the store.
I spoke to the exact same rep and explained what I’d like. I said in my friendliest voice: “I know this is really an exception, but is there anything you might be able to do?” 15 minutes later, I got the discount applied, plus another promotional code for 10% off another purchase because I had treated them like a human.
37. Welcome To Karenville
I am not married to a Karen; actually, she’s the exact opposite. I literally wish she’d be a Karen from time to time and stand up for herself, but she’s got me for that, so it’s all cool. I literally live in a suburb of Karens...I swear to God, go look up Westchase Florida because it’s a fancy, ritzy part of a lousy city.
Every woman here is the definition of a Karen. They are middle-aged, stay-at-home, soccer moms with rich husbands. They spend all day toting around their spoiled brats on “errands” which include the gym—but a women’s only gym—with other Karens. This is followed by sitting at Starbucks for an hour in their $200 workout outfits.
At Starbucks, they sit with their other Karen friends, and they all have kids beside them in $1,000 strollers. They come into my business, let’s say, which is a natural and organic grocery store—go figure—only to complain about the quality of our fruit and vegetables, and make our special order and call them when their stuff comes in.
This is all because Karen is apparently better than every other person in the whole freaking world. I really hate living here!
38. Karen Magnet
I was married to a Karen whose mom was a Karen. She was like Ray's mom on Everybody Loves Raymond. When I went out to eat with my mom and grandma, my mom complained that the coffee was too hot and my grandma complained that the ice cream was too cold. My wife also got us thrown out of the little league game, and for the most embarrassing reason too—she was harassing the 15-year-old umpire.
Now I'm by myself and Karen-free.
39. Karen Gets Told
My close friend’s mother was a Karen when I was a kid. His father was the absolute kindest person in the world and took so much garbage from her: at least most of the time. Every once in a while he would say something absolutely withering, and the look he would give at those times was terrifying. Here’s a perfect example of a time he talked back to her.
We were all out to eat at one point, and she wanted a server to be fired. She was literally demanding he be fired right there, right then. She was standing halfway up from the table, her face turning redder and redder, and she started enumerating all the reasons we should have all our food for free and the server should be unemployed.
My friend’s father gently put his hand on her shoulder and he spoke two words that had the whole table pause from eating: “‘Shut up,’ he said in a voice that was calm, even, and as cold as outer space. She immediately shut up and we ate the rest of the meal in silence. I always loved that line, and I liked that he would stand up to her occasionally...but when he used that voice, I felt like I was hearing a psychopath talk.
40. Karen Sees The Light
When I was growing up, my mom was a total Karen. She was always angry about something and treated my dad like total garbage. Mind you, my father is the kindest man who came from nothing, and he has built our life so good that even my grandkids will benefit from it. Also, she and my sister used to always go at it. Screaming and yelling were the norm around my household as a child.
I remember a time when I was like 10 or 11, I did something that upset my mom—I can't remember exactly what it was—and she punished me in the most devastating way. She straight-up pretended I didn’t exist for months. She would literally come home—thankfully I rode a bike so I didn’t have to depend on her for a ride—and I'd have to wait for my dad to get home to make dinner. Eventually, I learned how to make simple meals myself.
She would openly say bad things about my dad, my sisters, and me to her friends. I remember walking in the kitchen one time and saw her typing an email to her friends and it was just bashing us. I remember when we would walk by her computer, she would half shut it, and give us a side-eye as we were walking by, and then reopen it as we walked out of the room. As if we didn’t all know what she was doing.
Public outings generally ended in some type of drama. Whether it was between my sister and mother, or just some problem my mom had in general with the venue or restaurant. You could almost always expect those to end in some sort of traumatic style. It honestly got so bad that my siblings and I, at one point, told our parents they should get a divorce. They never did though.
As I got older things got a little better. We moved across the country because my dad was doing well, and my parents were able to buy their dream house at a young age. My dad’s job was in our hometown though, so he would still spend most of his time there. So, basically, it was just my mom and me who moved out there full time. My sisters were both moved out by this time.
I was going into high school where I knew no one, and my mom didn’t work so she didn't make any new friends either. I think we were forced to kind of be each other’s rock. We still had our arguments and indifferences, but as time went on we got closer. My mom still had issues with my dad—and a few other things—but life with my mom was good.
About a year after I went away to college, everything started to suddenly change. my mom got really sick. At one point, she came really close to not making it. It was terrifying for my whole family, but it ended up being one of our greatest blessings. Thankfully she pulled through and made a full recovery. Ever since then she has been a completely different woman.
My parents are totally in love again, and I’ve never seen them so happy. She never yells, screams, or really gets involved in any conflict anymore. She’s become the most supportive person in my life, and I can honestly say she is my best friend now. My whole family is closer now because of it as well.
Holidays and family get-togethers went from being a total drag to my most look forward to events of the year. While it’s unfortunate that it took my mother a “close to losing her life” experience to realize how good life could be if she would just change, I feel blessed for having a closer and happier family for it.
I think it also allows us to really cherish our time together because it’s not often we see each other anymore given our various life circumstances. But when we do, it’s the best time.
41. Karen Likes It Fresh
We’re not actually married, but we might as well be. At our local 7-Eleven, my girlfriend and I are friendly with the cashiers. They know that she always wants two taquitos—but only if they’re fresh! Not fresh? Okay, she will watch them put fresh ones on, and will come back to get them. She drapes herself across the counter and I just stand there and cringe.
When I pointed out that she is Karen, her reply made me roll my eyes. “If I don’t ask for the manager, how would I get anything done?” I hate going out in public with her.
42. Tween Confronts Karen
My mom is halfway to being a Karen. By that, I mean she will only do it in grocery stores. One time when I was 12, we were standing in line, and she was being an obnoxious twit. For some reason, I had had enough, and I decided to put her in her place right then and there. I said very clearly—and loud enough for most people in our line and the cashier to hear—"If you do not stop, I will not come out with you in the future. Your behavior is immature at best. Grow up."
She's not pulled that stuff around me since. Fingers crossed she doesn't, but I guess we’ll see...
43. Battle Of The Karens
My mother and mother-in-law are both Karens and their real names are both Karen. My mom is her true Karen self when out and about in public. Going out to eat with her is a nightmare as she constantly complains about the service. She doesn’t even need to ask for the manager, they just know to come over to the table to make sure she is OK.
My mother-in-law, on the other hand, is 1,000 times worse than my own mother. She is a narcissist. I could go on for days with stories about all the terrible things she says to strangers and myself included. Seeing that I am currently not communicating with my mother-in-law, I wonder if I should direct her to my manager—my mom—for further assistance to address the problems she has with me.
Has anyone seen two Karens battle it out?
44. This Karen Cleaned Him Out
I was married to a typical Karen. She was always holding the line up to complain that the last time they forgot to add something to her long order at McDonald's. She loved berating underpaid staff with her bellyaching no matter where or who. It was very embarrassing, to be honest.
She was also loud. Her voice had only one volume: 11.
She was ungrateful, and just a nasty piece of work. I desperately sought an excuse to leave her, but she ended up giving me the best reason to end it for good—I got cheated on and finally divorced her. I lost everything but my dignity.
45. Karen And Proud Of It
My mom is a Karen. She always snaps her fingers at waiters when she needs something. I follow her around apologizing—and leaving big tips—in the wake of her terrible behavior. One time, when my brother’s boss wouldn’t give him a full week off for Christmas, my mom called his boss to explain that we were doing family photos and that he needed the time off.
The crazy part is how old my brother was when this happened. He was freaking 26. It is extremely frustrating to be around her because she is so unaware. She is very proud of her ability to “make things happen” and she views her Karenness as the desired personality trait.
46. Another Karen Bites The Dust
My mother is a reformed Karen. In fairness, she was never particularly bad. But, when I was young, if we went to a restaurant and something was poorly made, she would call in the waitstaff and be very indignant and complain. She's now completely swapped sides. She's particularly kind to waitstaff. If something is wrong and does need to be raised, she'll be polite about it.
How did it happen? Well, it started with me being honest and saying her behavior was making me not want to go out to dinner with her. Then, she saw a member of her family do something similar: It turns out it was an acquired trait from her upbringing. She later recognized that he was being unpleasant and had ruined our night. She completely changed her tune after that and is more polite than normal.
Nowadays, if things are good, she will go out of her way to leave compliments.
47. Food Not Picture Perfect
I went on a date with a Karen once. It started out alright, but then when her food arrived, it didn’t look like the picture, so she demanded it be sent back. I’m pretty polite, so I waited to eat. I swear they sent the exact plate back. She lost it and demanded to see the manager. At that point, I started eating.
The manager came over, and the whole restaurant was looking like “what’s going on." She just laid into him. I placed a twenty on the table to cover mine and slipped the waitress a ten while mouthing an apology. I left right after that, and I never did find out what happened. I drove to the restaurant too, so I have no idea how she got home. I blocked her number as I left.
48. This Karen Comes With Baggage
I dated a male Karen for eight years. He was a semi-successful business owner who was twice my age, and I was young and dumb—for a lack of better words. The gist of our relationship was him trying to take over every part of my life. For instance, he would order for me at restaurants and would dissuade me if I wanted to try something new.
If I had a problem with something, it would be immediately brushed off; but if he had a problem, then he had to talk to a manager. Not knowing any better, I just thought he was very particular and even started copying some of his tendencies: like speaking up when I felt I wasn’t getting the right service when I was out on my own.
I realized who he really was when we were flying back from Vegas. I noticed something so peculiar—our luggage was heavier than when we flew in. Obviously, we’d bought extra things which made up for the weight difference. So he demanded an explanation from the check-in clerk as to why it weighed more if it was the same luggage. I innocently answered that it must have been the extra shoes and clothes. He was quiet and paid up.
Later, he told me not to do that again. He said he knew the reason why the luggage was heavier and that he was just trying to get away with not paying. At that moment, a bulb went off in my head. This man who’d spent $1,500 on a private dancer for his friend was making an already stressful job more stressful for the clerk in order to avoid paying $60!
We broke up soon after and I checked myself on the Karen tendencies he’d rubbed off on me.
49. Karen Versus Carl Jr.
My mom is a Karen. She thinks the world is supposed to cater to her and that everyone else is wrong. Once, we went to Carl's Jr. and she ordered four burgers for the four of us. What she did next made me so angry—she pulled one burger out of the bag while the guy was getting our drinks and hid it. She complained that he forgot a burger, pulling out the remaining three in the bag one by one and counting them in front of him.
He keep swearing up and down that he put them all in the bag, but she threatened him, saying, "If you don't get me another burger, I will call your manager." I was stunned speechless, but it happened so fast. She got a free burger and laughed as we drove off. I just stared at her and she opened it up to eat it on the drive home. She ate her actual burger like the fifth one never existed.
I can't even explain how she is when she's in the hospital. She treats it like a luxury stay in a hotel.
50. A Look Of Absolute Horror
My mom was a Karen in both name and behavior. My dad had a massive heart attack. His brain was oxygen-deprived, and we weren't sure if he was going to make it. We also weren’t sure how intact his mind would be. He was intubated, sedated, the whole works for days. My toddler nephew visited the hospital. He was dad's special buddy.
My dad somehow roused from his critically ill state to wave his fingers and say a few words to my adorable nephew. A miracle! My mom tried to get my dad to talk to her, and then she did something absolutely appalling...she slapped him—pretty hard—on the chest because he wouldn't say anything to her. She was jealous of a two-year-old. I mean, she hit a man in intensive care.
The look on the nurse's face was absolute horror.
Sources: Reddit
