Sarah Jane Comrie is a healthcare employee from New York City who went viral for her video capturing dispute with a Black man over a Citi Bike. After the incident, her legal fees begin to stack up causing financial strain. To try to raise money for her legal fees, Comrie’s uncle, Bob Roe, started a GoFundMe page. In just a few days, the page managed to raise over $100,000 as individuals showed support for Comrie.
The incident took the internet by storm when a viral video was captured showing Comrie, who was pregnant at the time, disputing with a Black man over a Citi Bike. In the video, Comrie was seen to be adamant about mounting a Citi Bike despite the Black man informing her that he had already paid for the ride.
Following the incident, Comrie’s attorney, Justin Marino, posted a statement disputing accusations of racism towards her. He noted that she had documents to prove that she had paid for the ride and was just in the process of mounting onto the bike when the situation began to escalate.
On the fundraiser page, Comrie’s uncle wrote that she had been ‘unfairly painted as a racist Karen’ and that the truth is she is an employee dedicated to helping those in need. Even though it was a difficult decision, she needed to start the fundraiser to help cover the legal costs and her reputation.
Overall, the controversy has caused a lot of backlash especially in the internet and social media world. However, Sarah Jane Comrie has still been able to make a positive out of the situation as generous individuals have showed enormous support for her by donating a total of over $100,000 in a matter of days.
