The online mob thought they found their villain. They were wrong, and Cheryl Richardson-Wagner made sure they knew it.
Wrongly accused of being the infamous “Phillies Karen,” the woman caught on viral video screaming at a father and son over a home run ball, Richardson-Wagner was dragged into the chaos by internet sleuths who were convinced they had unmasked the culprit.
Highlights
- A woman was wrongly accused of being the infamous “Phillies Karen” in the viral home run ball video.
- Despite the internet sleuth’s best efforts, the real “Phillies Karen” remains unidentified.
- While the boy never ultimately never got the ball back, he received gifts and a signed bat.
There was only one problem. Not only is she not the disgraced viral figure, she’s not even a Phillies fan.
Woman falsely accused of being the infamous “Phillies Karen” was forced to defend herself after internet vigilantes came after her
Image credits: NBC10 Philadelphia
“But I sure would love to be as thin as she is and move as fast… and I’m a Red Sox fan!”
Image credits: NBC Sports
The drama started at LoanDepot Park in Miami last Friday (September 5), where a Philadelphia Phillies fan was caught on video throwing a tantrum after a home run ball landed in nearby seats.
In typical “Karen” fashion, the woman felt entitled to the ball which had been scooped by fellow fan Drew Feltwell, who then gifted it to his young son, Lincoln, as an early birthday gift.
Image credits: NBC Sports
Seconds later, the Karen stormed over, screaming the ball was hers.
“I didn’t even see her walk up,” Feltwell recalled in an interview with NBC10. “She yelled in my ear, ‘That’s my ball!’ super loud… She just wouldn’t stop.”
The infamous figure screamed at the father and son, demanded they hand over the ball, and flipped off the crowd
Image credits: NBC Sports
Fans were immediately put off by the woman’s behavior and promptly started booing, but that didn’t stop her. The Karen continued to berate the father in front of his son, claiming the ball had landed near her seat, and that she was entitled to it.
She then flipped the middle finger at the crowd.
Lincoln, who was happily holding the ball in his glove, felt he had no option but to cave into the woman’s demands.
“I wasn’t very happy that we had to give it to her,” the boy said. “But we can’t win.”
Drew, on the other hand, said they returned the ball because he prioritized getting the woman out of his son’s face, fearing the situation could get worse.
“I had a fork in the road,” he said. “Either do something I was probably going to regret, or be dad and show him how to deescalate the situation.
Image credits: Cubbie_MikeH
Regardless, he reiterated that he was the one who grabbed the ball fair and square, winning it after six other fans had also rushed toward it. None of them were the infamous Karen.
The story soon went viral, and internet sleuths launched a campaign to locate and shame the Karen for her behavior.
Richardson-Wagner is far from the only woman being accused of being the hated “Phillies Karen”
Image credits: NBC Sports
In their relentless search for accountability, netizens turned their attention to another woman, Leslie Ann Kravitz, an employee of Hammonton Public Schools in New Jersey.
Photos of the viral meltdown were compared to her Facebook page, and in no time, online rumors claimed she was a staff member at the establishment.
Smelling a PR disaster, the school district wasted no time in shutting the rumors down.
“The woman identified on social media as ‘Phillies Karen’ is not, and has never been an employee of the Hammonton Public Schools,” the establishment wrote, before sprinkling in some sass of their own.
“Anyone who works for our school district, attended as a student, or lives in our community would obviously have caught the ball bare-handed in the first place, avoiding this entire situation!”
Netizens rushed to Richardson-Wagner’s profile, offering support as she was attacked by online trolls
Image credits: CDynamo57
Richardson-Wagner’s Facebook post denying the allegations quickly gained support.
“Omg! How did they even involve you in this?” one commenter wrote. “I would never see you taking a ball from a child! Crazy!”
“We are really upset that someone would make such a ridiculous claim,” another added. “Cheryl, we got your back.”
Image credits: X / Philadelphia Phillies
While Richardson-Wagner kept her response light-hearted, the reality of the situation is her privacy was put in grave danger, as online shaming campaigns often involve the publication of someone’s private information.
Targets of said campaigns are often known to have their addresses, place of employment, phone numbers, emails, and other personal details made public without their consent.
Though Lincoln lost his home run ball, the viral attention the incident got caused him to win something even better
Image credits: X / Philadelphia Phillies
Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader, the same athlete who hit the ball in the first place, heard about what happened and gave Lincoln a signed bat after the game.
At the same time, a representative of the Miami Marlins, who ended up winning the game 5-4, offered an apology, and gave Lincoln and his sister a gift pack filled with baseballs and goodies.
As for the real “Phillies Karen,” the internet is still trying to track her down, with some going as far as to joke she may flee the country before they do.
“I hope, for her sake, that she has emigrated to New Zealand by the time she is ID’d!” a user wrote.
“The other side of the world might be far enough to keep her out of trouble!”
Image credits: Facebook / Drew Feltwell
In the meantime, Cheryl Richardson-Wagner is back to rooting for her team, the Boston Red Sox, even if she had to change both her profile and cover photos to protect herself from online harassment.
"Out of control Karen." Netizens praised the dad's decision to not escalate the situation
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