Central Park ‘Karen’ Amy Cooper sues ex-employer for racial discrimination

Amy Cooper, the lady who went viral and became known as “Central Park Karen” last year after she called New York police and falsely reported a Black birdwatcher was threatening her life, has filed a lawsuit against her former employer who she accused of firing her without proper investigation. 

Cooper is suing investment firm Franklin Templeton, where she worked before this whole mess, alleging defamation, negligence, infliction of emotional distress and racial discrimination. She accused the investment firm of painting her with a broad, racist brush.

In the Manhattan federal suit, Amy Cooper accuses her former employer, Franklin Templeton, of perpetuating her image as a “privileged white female ‘Karen’” by making public statements that it had fired her after conducting an investigation into the incident.

She argued that she did not call the cops on Christian because she is “racist” — but rather because the “overzealous birdwatcher” selected her as a “target” in a feud between bird and dog lovers.

The court document read; 

“Even a perfunctory investigation would have shown that Plaintiff did not shout at Christian Cooper or call the police from Central Park on May 25, 2020 because she was a racist — she did these things because she was alone in the park and frightened to death after being selected as the next target of Christian Cooper, an overzealous birdwatcher engaged in Central Park’s ongoing feud between birdwatchers and dog owners.”

The suit notes that Franklin Templeton did not interview Cooper or the birdwatcher, during its investigation into the incident.

Amy Cooper was charged by the Manhattan DA last summer with falsely reporting an incident in the third degree — but the charge was later tossed by prosecutors after she completed a handful of therapy sessions.