What “Central Park Karen” meant to destroy a Black man birdwatching, turned out to bless him tenfold. According to USA TODAY, the victim of the incident is poised to host his own National Geographic show on Disney Plus.
Christian Cooper was birdwatching in Central Park in 2020 when he was approached by a dog belonging to Amy Cooper who refused to leash it. When he asked her kindly to leash her dog, she responded rather erratically, calling the police and accusing Christian of threatening her, the report says. Luckily, he caught the interaction on camera for proof that he didn’t cause any harm. Amy ended up with a charge of false reporting and termination from her job.
The video went viral, sparking national outrage against white women who criminalize Black people for no good reason. However, the Harvard alumnus caught the attention of someone who wanted to launch him from behind the buzz of being just another Karen victim.
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Since his run-in with the Central Park Karen, National Geographic TV, and Disney Plus have managed to turn his hateful experience into a hosting opportunity doing what he loves most. Birdwatching, of course! The new documentary series is called Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper.
Here’s National Geographic’s rundown of the show, “Life-long birder Christian Cooper takes us into the wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds. Whether navigating volcanic terrain in Hawaii for elusive honeycreepers, trekking into rainforests in Puerto Rico for parrots, or scaling a bridge in Manhattan for a peregrine falcon, he does whatever it takes to learn about these extraordinary, feathered creatures and show us the remarkable world in the sky above.”
Christian Cooper’s resume can speak for him. He wrote for birdwatching magazines such as Audubon, worked on the most popular Marvel Comics, volunteered on Central Park’s bird patrol and served as a panel judge for the National Book Awards, the report says. He is beyond deserving of an opportunity such as this.
The series is expected to premiere on the National Geographic Wild channel on June 17 and soon after, the show will debut on Disney Plus on June 21.