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A U.S. appeals court has declined to reinstate a lawsuit filed by Amy Cooper, the white woman known as "Central Park Karen," after she was fired for calling the police on a Black bird-watcher.
On Thursday (June 8), the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan unanimously decided that Franklin Templeton, Cooper's former employer, didn't illegally fire her on the basis of race or defame her as a racist, per Reuters.
Cooper became the center of controversy following a May 2020 video that showed her confronting a bird-watcher Christian Cooper. The woman threatened to tell police that there was "an African-American man threatening my life" after the birdwatcher requested she put her dog on a leash to comply with park rules.
Following an internal review, Franklin Templeton fired Amy Cooper, saying that they don't "tolerate racism of any kind."
The appeals court said Thursday that Templeton's statement on Cooper's firing had nothing to do with her race and upheld a lower court judge's dismissal of her lawsuit last September.
In a statement, Franklin Templeton applauded the decision.
"We continue to believe the company responded appropriately," the company said.
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