A woman caught hurtling racist remarks at an Indian-American family on an airport shuttle has finally broken her silence.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, photographer Pervez Taufiq was at the LAX airport when he filmed a United Airlines passenger insulting him while flipping him off.
This past Tuesday, she told Fox 11 that her brain injury was to blame for her rude behavior.
Highlights
- A woman blamed a brain injury for her racist behavior at an airport shuttle.
- The incident involved racist insults directed at an Indian-American family.
- The altercation went viral on social media, sparking outrage and criticism.
A “Karen” bus passenger said her racist tirade aimed at an Indian-American family was due to a previous brain injury
Image credits: FOX 11 Los Angeles
In an interview with the media outlet, the woman — whose name has not been revealed — claimed Taufiq had thrown the first verbal punch.
“[He] pushed me to the side to get in front of me and the lady made him go back to the end of the line and he’s talking to his wife, ‘Supposedly they are first-class… obviously with no class. Look at the way they’re dressed — they’re white trash,’” she stated.
Taufiq had allegedly been aggressive the moment they started loading the shuttle.
“He looks over to me and says shut your big effing mouth you white trash b–tch,” the woman continued, which later led to her husband and Taufiq exchanging a couple of words.
Image credits: Pervez Taufiq
Though none of the interaction was caught on video, she told viewers she was not racist, but rather that the series of escalations was due to her brain injury, which can cause her to “get agitated very easily.”
“Most people know me as a very calm, kind person,” she said.
Her words got around to Taufiq — and he was not happy with her response
Image credits: FOX 11 Los Angeles
According to the photographer, the only true part of the story was the confrontation with her husband.
While speaking to The Post, he said he’d told her to “shut the f–ck up and never speak to his son again,” but that was only after she’d been rude to his kid.
“The rest of it is completely and utterly fabricated,” he scoffed, saying the words “white trash” were not a part of his vocabulary.
Additionally, he stated, “Brain injuries can maybe cause aggressions I guess — I’ve never heard of that — but I never heard of a brain injury causing racism. That would be a new one."
“I’m so disappointed as a human being that she sees everything that happens and how much negativity around what she did and not a lick of her is apologetic.”
Taufiq told KTLA that they were proud Americans but what bothered him most about the altercation was that no one — save for only a few passengers — stood up for them.
“The takeaway for us is definitely if you see something, say something, try to stop it,” he said. “Do your best because you could be next, and you want everyone to be in your corner right when it happens.”
The incident happened on November 24 and quickly went viral on social media
Image credits: Pervez Taufiq
Taufiq had just landed in Los Angeles from Cancun with his wife and three sons when the woman—wearing a green striped T-shirt—started calling him a prick and throwing up two middle fingers.
“Your family is from India,” she said. “You have no respect, you have no rules, you think you can push everyone — push, push, push… that’s what you think you are. You guys are f–cking crazy.”
She didn’t hesitate to pull out her phone before claiming she would “record [his] f–cking tandoori –ss.”
“I’m American,” the woman stated, saying Taufiq was “from f–cking India.”
Image credits: Pervez Taufiq
An employee was later seen asking her to leave the vehicle, but she stood her ground until another passenger claimed she was “drunk” and “cussing and screaming” on the bus.
“She started calling racist slurs at this nice family,” they complained. “They didn’t do anything — she doesn’t need to be on this bus.”
She was later removed from the vehicle.
Following the incident, Taufiq shared a message on Facebook, detailing his shock and disappointment.
Image credits: Pervez Taufiq
While he was thankful for those who stood up for them and acknowledged the efficiency of the United Airlines employees, he was "mortified" to find that "these types of people still exist."
"As photographers we have seen a lot of, but this is one we could have done without."
He concluded by saying, "Racists shouldn't feel comfortable to be able to be themselves."
Netizens said her excuses were "embarrassing" and "shameful"
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