A California woman who was filmed harassing a street taco vendor and threatening to call the cops has taken to social media to release her own video in which she apologized and asked netizens to back off. Francesca Ortega, who became known to many as the “Santa Clarita Karen,” initially apologized before claiming that the fallout from the viral video had affected her business.
Ortega was initially filmed in a viral confrontation with a street vendor in which she was heard claiming taco stands hurt businesses in the community. Things escalated when she started calling the vendors illegal criminals. Targeting one vendor in particular, she spoke in Spanish, calling them a “stinky old woman,” before she threatened to call ICE.
