Op-Ed: Remember the 'Karen' Who Called the Cops on a Black Birdwatcher? She Might Get the Last Laugh

To say that Amy Cooper is a pathetic character, in the literary sense, would be right on.

In what social media dubbed the ultimate Karen moment, after a deeply problematic meme, Cooper was charged for filing a false report a year ago after a 911 call to the NYPD to falsely complain that a birdwatcher was threatening her. While the charges were eventually dismissed, Cooper was quickly fired by her employer.

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Yet at the end of May, Cooper, formerly an investment portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton, filed a lawsuit against the company, asserting that its CEO, Jenny Johnson, and other unnamed employees “had been negligent, discriminatory and defamatory in their treatment of the case and her subsequent termination,” according to Human Resources Director America.

As part of her claim, she is seeking lost salary, as well as emotional and punitive damages, for what she has characterized as “emotional and mental anguish.”

Cooper was fired less than 24 hours after the incident came to light through a viral video that became one of the most significant social memes of the past few years.

Franklin Templeton’s position has remained consistent from the onset: We don’t tolerate racism, we did an internal review of the situation and we think our termination of this employee was appropriate.

Clearly, the company has no choice but to remain consistent in its position, and it may not be wrong in having terminated Cooper. But maybe this isn’t as linear as it appears to be. While social media can cancel anyone they want at any time, cancel culture