The internet might have labeled Abigail Elphick “Victoria’s Secret Karen” in 2021, but according to a new report from The New York Times, the real story is more complicated.
Two years ago, Ijeoma Ukenta, who is Black, posted a video to her YouTube channel with the title “Karen Goes Crazy Part 1.” At the start of the video, Elphick, who is white, seems to be reaching for Ukenta’s phone as she films. She then sinks to the floor in tears, covering her face and denying Ukenta’s claims that she’d tried to hit her. Passersby in the store remain silent while Elphick begs, “Don’t record my mental breakdown—please, please, please.” The video has netted 2.6 million views on YouTube.
Ukenta had been shopping at Victoria’s Secret when Elphick began standing too close, the Times reports; when Ukenta asked Elphick to stand six feet away, she reportedly complained to a cashier, at which point Ukenta began filming.
ADVERTISEMENT
Her videos do not capture the initial exchange that sparked the scene. Insider reported at the time that Elphick later appeared to chase Ukenta around the store, claiming she’d “threatened” her, and later called the police. In August, New Jersey 101.5 reported that no charges had been filed.
According to the Times, legal filings have since revealed that Elphick is disabled, “with a long history of medical and psychological conditions.” She reportedly lives in a complex reserved for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Per the Times, her lawyers have said in a legal filing that her self-described “meltdown” resulted from fear that Ukenta’s video could threaten her job and housing. Ukenta’s video, they argue, violated her right to privacy.
Tom Toronto, president of Bergen County’s United Way—which administers the complex where Elphick lives—told the Times that he was “horrified” to learn of the harassment and threats that Elphick had endured following the video’s release. “She has a disorder,” he said. “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.”
Ukenta’s lawyers, meanwhile, argue that she filmed Elphick because she was “keenly aware that if the police were called, she, a Black woman, may not be believed.” As for why she chose to post the video, Ukenta’s lawyer, Tracey C. Hinson, told the Times, “It’s her right. She has a right to let the public know what happened to her.”
Back in 2021, Victoria’s Secret posted a statement about the incident on X—formerly Twitter—claiming that it had launched a “full investigation” following the “unsettling” video. The Mall at Short Hills addressed the matter via Facebook comment on a promotional post.
“We certainly take this matter very seriously,” the statement read. “We never want a single customer to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome at The Mall at Short Hills. We sincerely apologize to Ms. Ukenta for her experience.”
