According to the Urban Dictionary, a “Karen” is a middle-aged woman who feels entitled and couldn’t care less about others. She often finds a way to make solutions to others’ problems an inconvenience to her, even though she isn’t even remotely affected. Now, who would want to be a Karen? Apparently, many.
We’ve heard of Karens at grocery stores, we’ve heard of Karens at shopping malls, we’ve even heard of a “breast milk Karen” – but how about an airport Karen? Yes, our Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) was recently visited by a Norwegian Karen. Let’s see what this Karen did this time…
https://www.tiktok.com/@missssssyl/video/7181731986304732421?_r=1&_t=8YZMjXcWuRO&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7181731986304732421
Just recently, a video on TikTok went viral showing the Norwegian woman at an airport check-in counter mocking, screaming, and cursing at an airport employee. According to a statement by a witness, the woman was reacting to being barred from boarding an Emirates flight.
In the video, she curses and points at the employee behind the counter, saying: “This is my Norwegian passport. Embassy on your motherf**kng ass“. As she reaches down for her luggage, she looks up and starts to mimic the employee, even adding kissing sounds. She adds: “F*ck you. Your name?”
Apparently, the woman returned to the airport the next day and caused another commotion. She had intended to purchase another flight ticket, but couldn’t do so because she had lost all her cards, and began harassing airport staff. The earlier-quoted witness said that despite her attitude, he was impressed with the way KLIA employees diffused the situation.
Scrolling through the TikTok comment section, we found that many made jokes about this Karen. Surprisingly, many of them mentioned Azwan Ali, saying that he should be the one behind the counter fighting the Karen. Other commenters said that they would have just ignored her.
It’s important to be kind to all people in general, especially those who are in the service industry. We should plant it in our minds that they are simply doing their jobs, and they have to face an incredible number of people on a daily basis. No one wants to face a ‘Karen’ at any point of the day – or ever.
Puteri Teja contributed to this article.
