The great car parking debate: is this allowed?
A woman dubbed "Parking Karen" prevented a teenage driver in Queensland from parking by standing in an empty spot with a dog because she was holding the space for her husband.
Taking to TikTok to post footage of the incident, Marli McLaren from Mooloolaba wrote: “Anyone else dealt with a Karen before? (She) tried to reserve a park by standing in it HAHA.”
The video, which was posted on Wednesday, shows the woman in standing with her dog on a leash in the middle of a parking spot.
“Please move,” the teenager can be heard saying to the woman, who initially ignores her and waves her husband’s car over.
“I’m not moving, I’m sorry, you can’t do that,” the teenager says.
Instead, the woman walks over and says, “is there any reason why you’re filming me?”
“Because you can’t do that,” the teenager responds.
The woman then says she is going to call the police.
The video went viral, accumulating over 1000 comments and 60,000 views.
“The dog would be so embarrassed,” one person wrote.
“Nothing says ‘I lost the battle’ quite like calling the police over nothing,” another said.
“OMG even at Mooloolaba! There’s so many Karens on the coast, it’s deadly,” a third joked.
But some didn't have an issue with the woman claiming the space.
“I would have just let her have it, some battles aren’t worth fighting,” one person wrote.
Others branded the teenager as a "Karen" for not allowing the woman to take the spot.
But some users couldn't believe people were defending "Parking Karen" and attacking the teenager.
“It’s called a car park, meaning u get your car and park there - not a human park,” one observed.
McLaren posted a follow-up video to explain what happened afterward.
The woman didn't end up calling the police and ended up moving because her husband found another parking spot - but not before calling the teenager "immature" for recording her.
“You handled it very well! That woman made my blood boil,” one person wrote.
“Awesome work for holding your ground, these people are annoying,” another said.
“How are you so much more mature than that lady holding the spot?” a third person asked.
“Our future has a chance!”