‘Karen’ seen almost interrupting beach proposal in viral TikTok: ‘Please walk away’

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A video of a woman nearly ruining a stranger’s beach proposal has gone viral on TikTok, with many viewers deeming her a “Karen”.

On Sunday, Mevlide Ahmeti, who goes by @mevlideahmeti on the app, uploaded a video showing her filming a proposal set up on the Champlain Park beach in Ottawa, Canada, for her two friends, which included rose petals sprinkled amid the sand and a sign that read: “Marry me.”

However, as seen in the video, Ahmeti was repeatedly interrupted by a stranger walking with her child on the beach, who wanted to air her concerns about the proposal set up, prompting the TikTok user to state multiple times that she was “in the middle of something” but that she appreciated her “concern”.

After the woman again yells something from across the sand, Ahmeti can be heard telling her: “Ma’am, we are not going to stop this event for this conversation so please walk away.”

The video, which Ahmeti captioned: “When a Karen tries to ruin your friend’s proposal,” has since been viewed more than 6.3m times, prompting many viewers to express their anger over the interruption.

“How miserable do you have to be to ruin such a beautiful moment for other people,” one person questioned, while another said: “How bitter can one person be wow.”

Someone else amusingly pointed out that the woman was “in the traditional Karen pose with her hands out to the side”.

However, others were curious what prompted the woman’s reaction, with many of the comments asking Ahmeti to post a follow-up video explaining the woman’s complaints, while others suggesting that her interruption had to do with the fact that the proposal appeared to be set up on sand dunes.

“I need to know why she’s mad,” one person commented, with another writing: “I mean… if it’s about the dunes I get why she’s mad…”

In a follow-up video posted Monday, Ahmeti addressed some of the concerned comments from viewers about the potential disruption of the dunes during turtle egg season, before revealing that the woman’s issues were actually in relation to something else.

In the video, she can be seen walking on the beach where the proposal took place, with Ahmeti explaining that she decided to return to the location to “prove that it wasn’t private property and isn’t considered a place with dunes”.

Ahmeti then told invested viewers that they had hired a professional event planner that “knows the regulations surrounding the parks”.

According to Ahmeti, the party planner was also responsible for setting up and cleaning up the proposal grounds, and her friends had confirmed the beach was “public” and that no signs or fencing were up “that restricted us from setting up this event”.

“The only sign present was a Covid-19 sign, which clearly states that the city of Ottawa has been at this park recently, so if it were considered a protected area, there would be signs specifically for dunes,” Ahmeti continued.

The TikTok user then addressed the decor used in the proposal, adding that the roses seen in the first video were “100 per cent real” and “collected right after the proposal video was shot,” before revealing that the flowers were the reason the woman was concerned.

“This individual was walking around the beach and was shouting at us since she was under the impression that the roses were fake and that we were going to leave the mess,” she explained.

According to Ahmeti, after the woman eventually realised the flowers were real, she removed herself from the conversation and allowed the proposal to continue.

“In conclusion, we respect and abide by the city’s environmental safety and would never disrupt that in any way,” Ahmeti said, while sharing footage from the successful proposal. “Everyone has an opinion but let’s all try to calm down and understand each other and show some love.”

The follow-up video was met with even more comments horrified by the “Karen’s” behaviour, with one person writing: “Happy everything turned out fine! I hate when people can’t mind their business.”

“This should be a lesson not to jump to conclusions,” someone else commented. “I’m all about protecting the wildlife and the environment but it’s good not to assume things.”