A California business owner known online as “Santa Clarita Karen” is speaking out after a confrontation with a street taco vendor went viral. But Francesca Ortega’s tearful apology has done little to ease the backlash.
Ortega released an apology video after footage showed her berating the vendor, calling her a “stinky old woman” and threatening to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
She now argues that the widely shared video failed to capture the full context of the dispute.
“I’m not who they are portraying on that video. That video was taken out of context,” Ortega said, while conceding that her conduct “was not acceptable.”
The pregnant business owner also said she had not understood how serious it would be to invoke ICE during the confrontation.
“I didn’t know the seriousness that would be taken to mention the word ICE,” she said. “I now understand the full weight it has and how sensitive people are to that and I am sorry, I’m truly sorry.”
Ortega attributed the outburst to her anger and impulsive personality, saying she “lost” control during the exchange.
“I don’t know what happens to me when I’m pregnant,” Ortega said. “I say a lot of stupid sh-t.”
She said confronting the vendor was a mistake and maintained that she had expected the encounter to go very differently.
However, Ortega’s apology soon focused on the consequences for her family, workers and Santa Clarita cleaning business, which she said she had spent 10 years building.
“My employees have bills to pay, they need to work,” Ortega said. “They can’t just be losing hours because people are angry at me.”
Fighting back tears, she said the controversy was affecting her children and unborn baby as well.
“I haven’t been able to eat, I haven’t been able to sleep since yesterday,” she said. “This is a complete nightmare.”
Online critics, however, showed little sympathy for the apology.
“How to make an apology video without actually apologizing 101,” one Instagram user wrote.
Another commenter said Ortega appeared upset only after facing consequences herself. Others questioned whether she felt genuine remorse or simply regretted the backlash.
“The harasser doesn’t like being harassed? Go figure 🙄 And you’re upset about your family’s life being disrupted? What do you think about the taco stands family if you had actually called ICE? Get a grip!” one frustrated user commented.
The online backlash has also reached Ortega’s cleaning company, which she said was flooded with negative reviews after the confrontation spread across social media.
“Now all of my livelihood is ruined. The business that I worked so hard to build for 10 years,” she said, claiming that one-star reviews had overwhelmed the company’s previously strong ratings.
Ortega further claimed that she and her family had received threats, adding that she now feels afraid to go out in public.
But the bizarre saga took another turn when one of her critics, Ricardo Morales, told Fox 11 that Ortega retaliated against him by changing her company’s listed Google phone number to his.
Morales said he suddenly began receiving angry calls and texts from strangers who believed they were contacting Ortega’s business.
“It’s crazy to think that somebody can be that extremely vindictive and now won’t own up to their actions,” Morales told the station.
Ortega said she struck back because critics wouldn’t stop contacting her.
She has also maintained that she never intended to threaten the taco vendor, claiming the confrontation began after the woman photographed her license plate.
