A child was left crying after their trip to the pool escalated to police calls.
Filmmaker Leo Sullivan shared a video in which a “Karen” made an issue simply because they were the “only Black family” at the pool inside an Illinois apartment complex.
Viewers urged the father to sue the white woman, with one saying, “I’m absolutely gobsmacked by the way you were treated! My heart broke for your boy.”
Highlights
- Film producer and author Leo Sullivan spoke about a “Karen” targeting him and his kids for being the “only Black family” at the pool.
- The Atlanta resident revealed that he and his boys were in a Chicago Airbnb when the incident took place.
- Viewers who saw the video urged the father to sue the “racist Karen and her buddy.”
- “She needs to be heavily fined. You’re not allowed to keep emergency services busy with nonsense like this,” one commented on the video.
Leo Sullivan spoke about a “Karen” targeting him and his kids for being the “only Black family” at the pool
Leo Sullivan, a film producer and author living in Atlanta, had traveled with his boys to Chicago when he captured the “Karen” targeting his family.
The viral clip was originally posted by Sullivan for his 136K followers on Facebook and later shared on other platforms, including his TikTok, where the clip garnered 2.5 million views.
Viewers saw the woman approaching the father in front of his two kids at their Airbnb.
Sullivan was seemingly enjoying an ordinary day by the pool when the woman questioned him in front of his sons.
The woman allegedly targeted him and asked for his ID but allegedly did not bother the other visitors there, Sullivan said.
He also claimed that the “racist Karen and her buddy” went as far as calling the cops while they were there.
Sullivan was seemingly enjoying an ordinary day by the pool when the woman questioned him in front of his sons
“Karen calls the cops on the only Black family at the pool, demanding to prove their [sic] residents,” read the text box hovering at the top of his TikTok video.
The filmmaker claimed to have shown her proof that he was staying there. But that was apparently not enough for the woman, who allegedly went on to ask him for his ID.
“Like who brings ID to a swimming pool?” he exclaimed.
Sullivan’s younger son was heard crying in the video, afraid about whether his father was going to “be put in jail.”
The father tried to reassure the child before telling the camera, “Wow, welcome to Chicago.”
In his caption, he continued: “Anyway, the police came, and I intelligently explained I don’t have to show them SH**!”
The father tried to reassure the child before telling the camera, “Wow, welcome to Chicago”
With the incident taking a toll on his kids, Sullivan said he might go as far as suing the “racist Karen.”
“I paid good money like everyone else, accept I am Black. Karen was all smiles until the police told them, I don’t have to show them anything,” he wrote in his caption.
“This really traumatize my children. I might sue these people,” he added. “This world is terrible, she saw my child crying and begin smiling more. Just for that I got into the pool and played with my boys.”
Viewers from across the world commented on Sullivan’s video and urged him to take legal action against the woman.
“Send those women straight to jail for wasting police time,” one commented on the video
“Do people in America just call the police for the slightest inconvenience?” one asked, while another wrote, “My heart broke when his son started crying. This is so sad.”
“My heart breaks for your younger son,” commented another. “Terrible what those women did to you all.”
“Tell your boys their dad is a hero in everyone’s eyes! Love from Europe,” one said.
“When your boy cried, I cried. I’m so glad the police dealt with this,” wrote another. “Hope these Karens see themselves and are embarrassed. Sending love from Scotland.”
One said, “This is the trauma all black children go thru from an early age.”
Many urged the film producer and author to take legal action against the Karen
Sullivan later shared an update, saying he and his boys made it safely back home to Atlanta after “experiencing so much hate and humiliation” at their Airbnb.
He revealed in the video that when the police arrived, he explained the situation to them, saying they were residents in the complex.
After the cops left, Sullivan said he had asked the building’s staff for details on the “Karen” and her buddy. But they refused to provide any information about them.
“They actually called the police on me again, saying I was harassing them. Fortunately, the police was a very understanding police. He knew what was going on,” he said.
Despite the ordeal, he said he was happy his children were okay and thanked viewers for their support.
“She needs to be heavily fined. You’re not allowed to keep emergency services busy with nonsense like this,” one commented on the video
