5/26 11:40 AM PT -- 5/26 Franklin Templeton has just announced Cooper's been fired from her job. The company said, "Following our internal review of the incident in Central Park [Monday], we have made the decision to terminate the employee involved, effective immediately." The investment firm doubled down ... "We do not tolerate racism of any kind at Franklin Templeton."
5/26 5:36 AM PT -- 5/26 -- "Karen" has been put on administrative leave by her employer, an investment company, in the wake of the video surfacing. The company, Franklin Templeton, said, "We take these matters very seriously, and we do not condone racism of any kind."
The woman, whose real name is Amy Cooper, said Monday, "I sincerely and humbly apologize to everyone, especially to that man, his family ... It was unacceptable and I humbly and fully apologize to everyone who's seen that video, everyone that's been offended," adding, "everyone who thinks of me in a lower light and I understand why they do."
8:02 PM PT -- It appears "Karen" was shamed into returning her adopted rescue. The Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, Inc. -- where she reportedly adopted the pup in March 2018 -- said just hours after "Karen" went viral, she "voluntarily surrendered the dog in question to our rescue while this matter is being addressed ... the dog is now in our rescue's care and he is safe and in good health."
This is a disgusting case of Karen-ing caught on video -- a white woman calling the police and pretending a black man is attacking her ... when he really just asked her to leash her dog.
This went down Monday in NYC's Central Park ... and the video starts with the woman attempting to leash her dog, but then she quickly walks toward the man recording the video ... who'd complained her dog was off-leash. All dogs are required to be on-leash, by law, in Central Park from 9AM-9PM.
What happened next is really heinous to watch play out -- she asked the man to stop recording her, which he didn't. She then threatened to call NYPD and "tell them there's an African-American man threatening my life."
The man encouraged her to call and, of course, she did and carried out her threat ... which you have to see. The woman started yelling, and used a high-pitched, hurried tone -- trying to make it sound like she was in imminent danger.
It worked. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... NYPD responded around 8 AM, but when they arrived both parties had left, so no tickets, no arrests. We're told the initial call dispatch put out to officers was for a "possible assault."
Well, the cops didn't get her, but with the video getting around on social media ... the woman is, deservedly, getting dragged online. Several people believe they've ID'd her and her dog. BTW, the woman was also dragging/choking her poor dog during her phony-baloney rant to cops.
Aside from the harmful, blatant lie about a fellow citizen ... she also wasted NYPD resources at a time when the city is still recovering from being the coronavirus epicenter.
Like we said ... disgusting.
Originally published -- 5/25 3:30 PM PT