This past Saturday, Los Angeles-based actor and pop singer Simon Curtis posted a video to his Twitter account of someone he described as a "disgusting Karen," accusing the woman of leaving her dog locked in a car in the "bald ass open sun with closed windows and no AC in 95-degree heat."
The video did not feature any clear footage of the dog in question, instead showing the woman smiling and appearing to laugh as she pulled out of a parking spot outside of popular Los Angeles health food store Erewhon. After noticing the woman's distinctive arm tattoo and hairstyle, Twitter users put together who this woman was: Canadian alternative pop artist Allie X.
Due to the intensity of the state's heat, California Penal Code 597.7 states that leaving a pet unattended in a locked vehicle is punishable by a $100 fine for first-time offenders. Should the animal suffer bodily harm due to being left in the car, the offence is upgraded to a misdemeanour that is punishable by up to six months in jail and extensive court fines.
The blowback to the video was swift and intense, from both fans and Curtis — who went on to mock X's appearance and call her "horrid," "vile," an "unapologetic animal abuser" and a "foul fucking ghoul" — and now, X has responded to the accusations with a statement of her own.
Addressing fans, X wrote that she took the day to "calm down before making a statement about an incredibly important subject." In her statement, X explains that while she did leave her dog — a lab named Koji — in her car unattended, her receipt from Erewhon marks the time passed as 11 minutes in total, contradicting Curtis's assertion that Koji was left in the car for "almost 20 minutes."
She also writes that Koji is "extremely socially anxious," leading her to "make a fast decision to let [the dog] continue napping in what I felt was a cool and safe environment for a few minutes while I ran in and out." She continues, writing that "the car was cool inside" when she returned and that the "small crowd" allegedly surrounding the car was not there.
She also explains her reasoning for leaving the dog in the car, writing that she wasn't aware of California's law and that she "actually felt it was safer to keep the windows up because I had the AC blasting at 60 F right before I got out and wanted to maintain the cool temp."
She ends the statement by thanking Curtis for his concern but questioning his "aggressive behaviour," intense social media campaign and his decision to use the opportunity to promote his music. She closes by writing that "Koji's philosophy is to see the best in people, so maybe we should both give that a try."
See X's response and Curtis's original tweets below.
The video did not feature any clear footage of the dog in question, instead showing the woman smiling and appearing to laugh as she pulled out of a parking spot outside of popular Los Angeles health food store Erewhon. After noticing the woman's distinctive arm tattoo and hairstyle, Twitter users put together who this woman was: Canadian alternative pop artist Allie X.
Due to the intensity of the state's heat, California Penal Code 597.7 states that leaving a pet unattended in a locked vehicle is punishable by a $100 fine for first-time offenders. Should the animal suffer bodily harm due to being left in the car, the offence is upgraded to a misdemeanour that is punishable by up to six months in jail and extensive court fines.
The blowback to the video was swift and intense, from both fans and Curtis — who went on to mock X's appearance and call her "horrid," "vile," an "unapologetic animal abuser" and a "foul fucking ghoul" — and now, X has responded to the accusations with a statement of her own.
Addressing fans, X wrote that she took the day to "calm down before making a statement about an incredibly important subject." In her statement, X explains that while she did leave her dog — a lab named Koji — in her car unattended, her receipt from Erewhon marks the time passed as 11 minutes in total, contradicting Curtis's assertion that Koji was left in the car for "almost 20 minutes."
She also writes that Koji is "extremely socially anxious," leading her to "make a fast decision to let [the dog] continue napping in what I felt was a cool and safe environment for a few minutes while I ran in and out." She continues, writing that "the car was cool inside" when she returned and that the "small crowd" allegedly surrounding the car was not there.
She also explains her reasoning for leaving the dog in the car, writing that she wasn't aware of California's law and that she "actually felt it was safer to keep the windows up because I had the AC blasting at 60 F right before I got out and wanted to maintain the cool temp."
She ends the statement by thanking Curtis for his concern but questioning his "aggressive behaviour," intense social media campaign and his decision to use the opportunity to promote his music. She closes by writing that "Koji's philosophy is to see the best in people, so maybe we should both give that a try."
See X's response and Curtis's original tweets below.
