There’s a New ‘Karen’ in Town

Gen Z seems to have officially retired “Karen” from the internet slang hall of fame and replaced her with a new name: “Jessica.” The Karen meme, which exploded on Reddit around 2018, became shorthand for a certain type of entitled behavior—demanding to “speak to the manager,” treating service workers poorly, or holding rigid, sometimes racist opinions. Originally, the caricature often included a spiky haircut (think reality stars like Kate Gosselin and Sharon Osbourne), chunky highlights, and oversized sunglasses. Over time, the label shifted away from a specific look or age group and became more about attitude: anyone projecting extreme entitlement could be tagged a Karen.

Now, as “Karen” feels closely tied to Gen X and its namesake’s popularity fades, online culture is searching for a millennial-era counterpart. Enter “Jessica.” On TikTok, Jessica is increasingly taking over as the new symbol for the same persona, appearing in sketches, comment threads, and punchlines like “Thanks, Jessica” or “Not today, Jessica,” according to women’s entertainment site Tyla. One viral clip, which drew over 20,000 comments, suggested that Jessica is solidifying her spot, with “Ashley” emerging as a secondary contender.

Why Jessica? Partly because it’s a common, easily recognizable name that fits seamlessly into memes. Some users shared personal evidence for the stereotype: “I’ve never met a pleasant Jessica,” one wrote, while another admitted being “traumatized” by both Ashley and Jessica. Not all Jessicas were happy, though—a real-life Jessica chimed in to protest: “PLEASE!! I’m a good person.” Whether this marks the start of a full meme rebrand or just a passing TikTok trend, anyone named Jessica might want to consider going by Jess—at least for a while.

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