I was sure there would eventually be a movie about the “Karen’s” of the world, but I am soooo happy that BET got the chance to put out the first full length version.
In BET’s Original Movie Karen, the Orange Is the New Black alum, 42, plays the titular role, a suburban white woman hell-bent on terrorizing her new Black neighbors (played by Cory Hardrict and Jasmine Burke).
“If you don’t comply, I’ll tell the manager,” Manning’s Karen Drexler tells a table of restaurant patrons at one point in the trailer, later calling the police on a group of “aggressive” teens. There’s even a scene featuring a bathroom soap dispenser decorated with a Confederate flag.
“We are living next door to a racist,” Burke’s character Imani says in the trailer.
Manning told Deadline of starring in Karen, “I felt a social responsibility to take on this role. Even if I had to play the villain to affect change around the globe, then I was more than willing to step into the role. What’s been going on is devastating. It’s time for change, and for me to be a part of the bigger picture meant a lot to me.”