Nationwide — A white woman from Sacramento, California was caught on video harassing Ronnie Marie Paiva, a local Black business owner, and accusing her of selling drugs.
Paiva showed her hair care products but the woman pressed on, asking why she is doing business outside. “Because I can. It’s a public park,” Paiva can be heard saying but the woman still insisted it looked like a drug deal.
Calmly, Paiva then challenged the woman to call the police if she was doing anything wrong. She added that she is paying $50,000 taxes and that she is a homeowner in the area, to which the woman said she should just do her business in her house instead.
Even after Paiva handed over the hair care products to her client, the woman still continued harassing and accusing her of selling drugs. The woman said she was just giving her a “heads up” and people in the neighborhood have been talking about “a girl on the bike selling drugs.”
The video, which was posted on TikTok by @prettii_tb, has since gone viral with nearly 3 million views. People swarmed in to express their support for Paiva and applauding her for keeping her cool on dealing with a ‘Karen’.
Paiva, who has been an entrepreneur for almost 7 years, said she is grateful for the experience.