‘It’s because of you Chinese people!’: Grocery store Karen accuses Asian couple of being responsible for spreading COVID in racist rant in Montreal store
- A woman was forcibly removed from a Montreal grocery store after she going on a racist rant where she blamed an Asian couple for the spread of COVID
- The unidentified French-Canadian ‘grocery store Karen’ was filmed by Ken Mak in a video uploaded to Facebook on Monday
- ‘All of these 21 months of bulls***… All of these f****** epidemic that became a pandemic, it’s because of you Chinese people!’ the woman yells
- A store employee eventually intervened and removed the woman, with the Montreal police being called to help get her out of the store
- More than half of Asian-Canadians say they have suffered some form of discrimination over the past year since the onset of the pandemic
- Canadian politicians have lashed out at the woman’s behavior, including the Mayor of Montreal and the Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism
A woman was removed by police from a Montreal grocery store after a racist rant where she blamed an Asian couple for the spread of COVID-19.
The unidentified ‘grocery store Karen’ was filmed by Ken Mak in the checkout aisle at IGA on Nuns’ Island.
‘Are you Chinese?’ she asked Mak, who moved to Canada 20 years ago. When he responded in the affirmative, she launched into the racist tirade, all two minutes of which was captured on Mak’s cell phone video.
‘All of these 21 months of bulls***… All of these f****** epidemic that became a pandemic, it’s because of you Chinese people!’ the woman yelled at the couple while giving the couple the middle finger.
A store employee eventually intervened and removed the woman, who mentions her family is ‘one of the best lawyers in Montreal,’ as she continues her rant towards the store’s exit before the video cuts off.
Pictured: the unidentified woman who was caught on camera giving a racist, anti-Chinese rant towards an Asian couple, where she blamed them for the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic
‘Are you Chinese?’ the woman, pictured, asked Mak. ‘All of (this) f**** pandemic, it’s because of you Chinese people!’ the woman yelled at the couple while giving the couple the middle finger
The Montreal police reportedly were called to help remove her from the store, according to NBC News.
‘It’s unfortunate that the Asian community has to put up with this,’ said Mak, adding that he filmed the incident because he wanted to make his fellow Canadians aware that this kind of racism still exists.
Mak, who captioned the video with the hashtag #StopAsianHate, said that the racist incident ‘shall not be swept under the rug.’
‘This pandemic has caused chaos in all our lives, and it is not acceptable to assault a specific minority for it. We all have been through the lockdowns, the curfews and the hardships in Quebec together just like everyone else,’ Mak wrote.
‘All crisis ends, but until then we need to support each other, not blaming innocent people.’
More than half of Asian-Canadians say they have suffered some form of discrimination over the past year since the onset of the pandemic, according to a July survey from the Angus Reid Institute.
The Government of Canada even addressed anti-Asian racism back in October, during Asian Heritage Month.
Meanwhile, Canadian politicians and local community leaders have lashed out at the woman’s behavior, including the Mayor of Montreal.
‘I denounce this lady’s racist remarks, which are shocking and unacceptable,’ Mayor Valérie Plante tweeted in response to the video.
‘Anti-Asian racism has no place in Montreal, and this type of aggression should never be tolerated.’
Pictured: IGA on Nuns’ Island, the Montreal grocery store where the anti-Asian racist rant took place
Quebec’s minister tasked to oversee anti-racism efforts, shared the same sentiment.
‘Saddening, shocking and condemnable! Behavior of this sort simply has no place in Quebec,’ Benoit Charette tweeted.
The grocery store also released a statement, saying they are ‘incredibly disheartened and upset’ over the unnamed woman’s racist behavior.
‘In such circumstances, we ask the customer to leave our store, as our team did in this instance. Local authorities were contacted to assist in this matter,’ IGA said, according to CTV News.
‘At IGA, we denounce all forms of hate. This is never acceptable.’
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