Another day, another white woman in NYC calling the police on a Black person who was just trying to go about their business. A woman named Svitlana Flom has officially joined the ranks of Amy Cooper and all the other Karens and Beckys who tried to weaponize their white privilege and call the cops because they were offended by a Black person simply existing… and then got virally shamed for it.
On Sunday, Instagram user @_brownsugarbaby uploaded a series of videos in which Flom can be heard on the phone with police, claiming the other woman is “playing the black card”, “attacking” her, and “threatening her kids”.
In the caption of the post, @_brownsugarbaby says that this went on for over 45 minutes, with Flom calling the police multiple times, “alarmed” that the Black woman had the audacity to sit “comfortably” in what Flom believed to be “her neighborhood”. She explains that the first time Flom called the police, it was because she thought the woman was smoking in public. (Smoking in parks is not legal in NYC and is usually punishable by… a $50 ticket. However, those who may witness someone violating the no-smoking law are encouraged to either inform a Parks Department employee or Park Enforcement Officer, or call 311. In other words, in case there was any doubt, Flom calling the police was reckless and in no way justified.)
After making her initial call in which she thought the woman was smoking, Flom then supposedly upped the ante, claiming the woman was threatening Flom and her children. This, despite the fact that in most of the footage, Flom is nowhere near her children, and her own husband walks away from her. As the woman points out in her video, Svitlana’s husband doesn’t even approach her to ask if she’s okay despite her supposedly being in such extreme distress.
Once the video hit Instagram and Twitter, the internet did their thing and dragged Flom for her dangerous racist actions.
Another day… another Karen using her privilege to call the police on an unmarmed African American woman minding her business getting fresh air in the park. #SvitlanaFlom is her name pic.twitter.com/wVAYu8ymgm
— Bunny (@ButtaNoBiscuits) May 31, 2020
Well another example of damsel in distress theory. The full video is available and for the record this KAREN literally walked herself up to the woman from a DISTANCE meaning more than 3 steps to harass her. Let do work to rid ourselves of people like #SvitlanaFlom https://t.co/DR57PeIe2l
— Danielle Golden (@DanielleGolde1) June 3, 2020
The internet also quickly figured out that Flom is reportedly the co-owner of Maison Vivienne, a French restaurant in NYC, which according to Yelp, is currently closed, though it’s not clear if the closure has anything to do with the incident in the park.
Flom, unsurprisingly, paints a different picture of what went down, telling Page Six that the video was edited “to make me look like a racist”, and that the altercation started because she told the black woman and her friend “they’re not supposed to be smoking [weed]”. She claimed the woman “jumped off [her seat], ran in my face. She didn’t care I was pregnant, or that I had two little kids.”
To that, all I have to say is:
Images: Photo by Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images; @_brownsugarbaby / Instagram; ButtaNoBiscuits, DanielleGolde1 / Twitter; Giphy
