‘SoHo Karen’ Says She Can’t Be Racist

Miya Ponsetto, the 22-year-old woman also known as “SoHo Karen,” was interviewed by CBS This Morning’s Gayle King last week, and now that the interview has aired, it’s sparking plenty of backlash. 

The first part of the interview aired on Friday (Jan. 8), and on Monday (Jan. 11), the second and final segment of the interview was released. In it, Ponsetto is asked to address accusations of racially profiling a Black teenager who she believed stole her phone and tackling him. It ended up that Ponsetto left her phone in an Uber.

Ponsetto said it’s not possible for her to racially profile someone or otherwise be racist because she is herself a woman of color. She insisted to King that the false accusation against Harrold’s son was not about race but that she thought “any person” walking out of the lobby might have had her phone.

“I wasn’t racial profiling whatsoever. I’m Puerto Rican,” Ponsetto said. “I’m, like, a woman of color. I’m Italian, Greek, Puerto Rican.”

When asked whether she thought she couldn’t be racist because she was a woman of color, Ponsetto told King, “exactly.”

“Well, I would disagree with that,” King said. “People of color can be racist too. Do you believe that you should pay a price for this?”

“I don’t feel that my accusation is a crime,” Ponsetto responded.

King then confronted Ponsetto during the interview about her apparent lack of remorse for the incident. Instead, Ponsetto says she is also traumatized.

“He’s 14? That’s what they’re claiming? Yeah. I’m 22,” Ponsetto said. “I’ve lived probably just the same amount of life as him. Like, honestly. I’m just as a kid at heart as he is. I feel sorry that I made the family go through, like, all of that stress. But at the same time, it wasn’t just them going through that.”

Watch the full segment below.

Miya Ponsetto, the 22-year-old woman also known as “SoHo Karen,” was interviewed by CBS This Morning’s Gayle King last week, and now that the interview has aired, it’s sparking plenty of backlash.

The first part of the interview aired on Friday (Jan. 8), and on Monday (Jan. 11), the second and final segment of the interview was released. In it, Ponsetto is asked to address accusations of racially profiling a Black teenager who she believed stole her phone and tackling him. It ended up that Ponsetto left her phone in an Uber.

Ponsetto said it’s not possible for her to racially profile someone or otherwise be racist because she is herself a woman of color. She insisted to King that the false accusation against Keyon Harrold’s son was not about race but that she thought “any person” walking out of the lobby might have had her phone.

“I wasn’t racial profiling whatsoever. I’m Puerto Rican,” Ponsetto said. “I’m, like, a woman of color. I’m Italian, Greek, Puerto Rican.”

When asked whether she thought she couldn’t be racist because she was a woman of color, Ponsetto told King, “exactly.”

“Well, I would disagree with that,” King said. “People of color can be racist too. Do you believe that you should pay a price for this?”

“I don’t feel that my accusation is a crime,” Ponsetto responded.

King then confronted Ponsetto during the interview about her apparent lack of remorse for the incident. Instead, Ponsetto says she is also traumatized.

“He’s 14? That’s what they’re claiming? Yeah. I’m 22,” Ponsetto said. “I’ve lived probably just the same amount of life as him. Like, honestly. I’m just as a kid at heart as he is. I feel sorry that I made the family go through, like, all of that stress. But at the same time, it wasn’t just them going through that.”

Watch the full segment below.