A successful GoFundMe campaign has earned $100,000 for Sarah Comrie, the pregn@nt hospital worker in Manhattan at the center of a viral controversy involving Citi Bike. On May 12, over two weeks ago, Comrie was widely accused on social media of stealing a Citi Bike from a young Black man who said he had paid for the bike.
In the video, Comrie can be seen disputing with the young Black man and his pals, who have their hands on the bicycle and claim it as their own. Many people on social media demanded that she be fired from her hospital job and punished for her alleged behavior after the video went viral and received millions of views.
Comrie was placed on administrative leave by NYC Health+ Hospitals/Bellevue after the incident and investigation. Comrie’s attorney, Justin Marino, has stated that he is working to clear her record after she was labeled a bigot, thief, and a ‘Karen’ because of the video.
Dictionary.com defines Karen as “a pejorative slang term for an obnoxious, angry, entitled, and often racist middle-aged white woman who uses her privilege to get her way or police other people’s behavior.”
The term has exploded in popularity over the years, and it is frequently used to describe women who are involved in viral situations. On Friday’s episode of American Newsroom on Fox News, Marino argued otherwise, saying his client had presented receipts showing she had already reserved the bike and was in the right.
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He stressed that neither he nor his client harbor any ill will toward the people seen in the film, but that they do intend to pursue defamation actions against media sites for the comments made about Comrie. On Friday, Comrie’s uncle Bob Roe started a GoFundMe page in which he denied that the hospital staff member had done anything wrong.
On the page it said, “Hello, my name is Bob Roe. My niece, Sarah Comrie, a Physician’s Assistant at Bellevue”, was unjustly portrayed as a racist “Karen” after an incident involving a Citi Bike went viral late last week.
You might be interested in the tweet about Sarah Comrie that is provided below:
People like Sarah Comrie are NOT Karens, they are racial threats. Comparing her to women who make a scene & ask for the manager ignores how she endangered Black lives. SHE was in the wrong yet yelled for help, accused him of hurting her baby, & tried to weaponize her fake tears. pic.twitter.com/lC0LQRRe7n
— Angel Jones, PhD (@AngelJonesPhD) May 15, 2023
Since then, evidence has shown this to be false, but the harm has already been done. Sarah, a hardworking member of the healthcare team, is expecting her first child. She is committed to helping New York City’s most disadvantaged people, and she strongly believes in issues of racial justice and equity.
“She does not wish to become a cause celebre, but the legal bills to save her livelihood and reputation are obviously mounting.” Roe thanked everyone who had helped raise money for him in an update posted to the GoFundMe website on Sunday.
Over $2.9k was donated in just three days, bringing the total to $105,317. The sum of $120,000 is being sought in donations.
Go back to the California Examiner‘s website for additional information and up-to-date news.
