Video: 'Medical Karen' Goes Viral In Citi Bike Argument With Black Man

Updated 10:43 a.m. Tuesday with comments from Health + Hospitals and NYPD.

NEW YORK CITY — New viral video shows a white woman, who appears to work for Bellevue Hospital, trying to take a Citi Bike from a Black man who says he just paid for the ride.

The "Medical Karen" video has garnered nearly 30 million views since it went live Saturday.

The video shows the woman clinging to the handlebars and calling for help as the man tells her he paid for the electric bike, the loss of which could end with a $1,200 replacement fee, according to the company's website.

"I'm not touching you," the man says. "This is not your bike."

Citi Bike's parent company Lyft didn't respond to Patch's request for comment.

A city Health + Hospitals spokesperson Tuesday sent Patch a statement that the woman — who is employed at the hospital under an affiliation agreement with NYU — is currently out on leave and will remain so pending a review.

"The incident in the video is disturbing," the statement reads.

pic.twitter.com/a0Rs3h010i
— NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue (@BellevueHosp) May 16, 2023

Police told Patch Monday evening that there are no 911 calls or reports filed for the incident.

The altercation appears to have taken place at a Citi Bike dock near Bellevue hospital on 30th Street and First Avenue.

The video begins with a woman in hospital scrubs repeatedly yelling, "Please help me," as the young Black man holds its handlebars.

At one point, she grabs the man's phone and says, "Get off me, dude. You're hurting my fetus."

A white man in scrubs walks up to the woman, who then appears to cry. The men around her cast doubt on the veracity on this response.

"Stop fake crying," one man says.

The man in scrubs suggests resetting the system.

"This is my bike," the Black man says. "It's on my account,"

"It's his, it's his, it's his," repeats another.

The video ends with the woman letting go of the bike to jeers from a crowd gathered around.

Viewers on social media condemned the woman's actions, which they said could have endangered the young man's life had police become involved.

"The fake tears were to trigger the white man behind her and or a cop to treat the young men like they were attacking her," one wrote. "When it didn’t work she immediately turned it off."

"This right here is one of the many dangerous situations our children face on a daily bases (sic)," another tweeted. "I’m glad this didn’t go any further wrong than what it already did."