Something about public transportation seems to bring out the worst in some people, but most people manage to hold it together and abide by the rules of the social contract for the duration of their trip, even if it takes a tremendous amount of willpower.
The woman featured in a recent viral TikTok isn’t an example of such a person. Instead of simply being normal, she decided that the train carriage was functionally the same as her living room, and sought out a place to rest her legs, eventually deciding to rest them in a woman’s lap, whether that woman was happy to be a footrest or not.
Joséphine Alarie shared her story in a lengthy video posted to TikTok, announcing to viewers, “So… it is official. Last night, I experienced my first Karen!” As she explains, the train was crowded, so she sat opposite an older lady, who, as soon as Joséphine sat down, asked her to move one seat over so that she could use her seat as a footrest.
Joséphine refused to move, which infuriated the woman, who was under the impression that being older means that she’s entitled to two seats where everyone else just gets one. After a few minutes, the woman begins sliding down in her seat, bringing her legs closer and closer to Joséphine, who asks her to stop doing that. Being entitled, the older woman refused, saying, “I’m going to continue to touch you until you move,” and “I’m going to do what I want, because you’re sitting where my feet should go.”
Things quickly escalated, with the woman picking up one foot and putting it next to Joséphine while wrapping her other foot around her ankle, causing Joséphine to yell and attract the attention of other passengers. The older woman then brings her foot to Joséphine’s face, which is when a conductor walks over and asks what the hell is going on.
It’s at this point that we cut to footage from the train, in which we can clearly see the woman’s foot on Joséphine’s seat while they’re talking to the conductor. Joséphine is visibly upset while the woman feigns disinterest, playing on her phone and continuing to invade Joséphine’s space.
The conductor returns with cops and since Joséphine was anxious and the older woman was mocking her for it, a kind stranger explained the situation to the police, who defused the situation as best they could, telling the older woman not to do it again and walking Joséphine to a different seat.
While a couple of commenters asked why Joséphine didn’t move to begin with — why should she have to? — most were flabbergasted that she was the one escorted to another seat, and that the woman resting her feet on people and waving them in a stranger’s face wasn’t removed from the train entirely.
As for Joséphine, she says her best friend will be giving her lessons in how to be mean and intimdating so she’s better prepared for the next Karen she encounters.
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