With Halloween 2020 just a month and a half away, many Americans are beginning to plan topical outfits to celebrate the occasion.
And while the year has brought no shortage of newly famous figures – from Tiger King’s Carole Baskin to White House Coronavirus Task Force Doctor Anthony Fauci – it seems that many will simply be dressing up as a nondescript suburban white woman.
According to an article published in Vice on Wednesday, ‘Karen’ costumes are set to be the most popular Halloween outfits of 2020.
‘Karen’ has recently become used as a slang term for a white woman who is perceived to be entitled, demanding or racist.
This year, dozens of videos showing ‘Karens’ calling cops on black people and screaming at supermarket clerks over face masks have gone viral on the internet.
Los Angeles-based artist Jason Adcock has started selling custom-made Karen facemasks on his Etsy page for the price of $180.
The product description reads: ‘The scariest thing you can be on Halloween!!!! Full head latex mask with hair. Sculpted, molded, cast, and painted.’
The masks feature Karen’s face contorted into a fit of rage, with yellowing teeth, red eyes and blotchy skin.
‘I was quarantining at home and wanted to make a new mask. I just started sculpting, and out came Karen,’ Adcock told Vice about how he came up with the idea for the masks.
‘I’ve spent most of my life working retail in the cosmetics industry, so I have seen countless Karens in their natural habitat.’
Adcock says he has received some hate mail over his controversial creations.
‘I have gotten a few death threats, a lot of people saying it’s racist, or that I should be disgusted with myself,’ he stated.
‘But if the one thing you’re pressed up about right now is a rubber Halloween mask of an angry lady, you need to wake up!’
Each mask takes up to four weeks to complete, so those hoping to wear one on October 31 will have to place their order soon.
However, there are a number of other retailers selling items to transform party-goers into an authentic-looking Karen.
One Amazon retailer is selling a ‘I Want To Speak To The Manager’ sweatshirt, whilst an Etsy store is stocking a blonde, asymmetrical style wig known for being the stereotypical Karen hairstyle.
Last year, YouTube star Sierra Schultzzie won praise for dressing up as a Karen, complete with a similar blonde wig and 2000s-style sunglasses.