Tipsheet

Woke Karen Issues Apology After Berating Target Employee

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  December 19, 2025 7:30 PM

Earlier this week, we told you about the viral video of a woke leftist berating and harassing an older woman working at Target. Why? Because the Target employee was wearing a red Charlie Kirk Freedom shirt. The woman, identified by media outlets as Michelea Ponce, confronted a Target employee, Janine Beeman, while filming the interaction. Ponce asked Beeman if she was a "racist" and hurled expletives at the woman.

"Why are you wearing that shirt? You're working. It's not a Target shirt," Ponce said.

"It's a red shirt," Jeanie replied. "It's a red shirt. I can wear any red shirt." 

"It's not a plain shirt," Ponce said.

"It doesn't have to be a plain shirt," Jeanie replied

"It's a Charlie Kirk shirt," Ponce said. 

"Oh, yes, I know," Jeanie said. 

"Are you f***ing stupid?" Ponce asked.

Patriots have raised more than $200,000 for Beeman, and many outraged Americans have called Ponce's employer, the Enloe Medical Center, which said it was conducting an internal investigation. The Chico Police Department was also investigating any criminal activity or threats.

Beeman showed tremendous grace despite the hatred directed at her and said she didn't want Ponce to be fired. "No, I don't think that's right...two wrongs don't make a right," Beeman said. "She wronged me, but I don't want to wrong her...it's not going to make it right."

Ponce has now issued an apology as well.

It reads:

I want to take full responsibility for my actions and say clearly and sincerely that I was wrong. I behaved badly, and I regret it deeply.

I want to directly apologize to Jeannie [sic]. I am truly sorry for approaching you at your workplace and putting you in an uncomfortable and unfair position. You did not deserve that, and my behavior was wrong.

I also apologize to Jeannie's family for the stress and attention my actions caused. I apologize to Target as her employer, I apologize to Enloe, and I apologize to the Chico community. I understand that what I did reflected poorly on myself and disrupted a sense of safety and respect that should exist in a workplace and in our community.

I did not handle the situation in the way I should have. I allowed my emotions to take over instead of choosing restraint and empathy. That was my failure, and I own it.

I regret my actions, and I am genuinely sorry for the harm they caused. I wish I can go back and undo what happened, but I can acknowledge it honestly, learn from it, and commit to doing better moving forward.

Some people were open to accepting the apology

Yes, it's scary when mobs come after you. But the Left does that all the time, and with threats of violence.

Others pointed out that we should respect Beeman's wishes on this.

Others are not so forgiving.

That's possible.

A fair point. It still boggles this writer's mind that Ponce thought it was a) a good idea to confront this woman, b) to swear at her and call her stupid, c) to film the entire thing, and d) post it on social media.

Those are a lot of mistakes to make.

Newsweek reported that the Chico Police have ruled out charges against Ponce. The CEO of Enloe Health, CEO Mike Wiltermood, issued a statement and called Ponce's behavior "abhorrent and deeply concerning for our caregivers, our organization, and our community." He would not confirm her employment status, citing privacy policies. Wiltermood also said Beeman deserved "significant credit for handling the situation in a calm and collected manner."