Qaren is an internet insult that blends 'Karen' with 'QAnon' to label middle-aged women who mix entitled public meltdowns with right-wing conspiracy beliefs.

Where did Qaren come from?

Political consultant Rick Wilson coined Qaren on Twitter on May 26, 2020, in response to a viral video of a Seattle woman angry that her doctor refused to prescribe her hydroxychloroquine.

What does Qaren mean?

Urban Dictionary's first definition described a Qaren as a female Trump supporter who believes QAnon conspiracies and acts with Karen-like entitlement.

How do you use Qaren?

Users typically attach #Qaren to clips of women confronting pharmacists, doctors, or store employees over masks, vaccines, or unproven COVID-19 treatments like hydroxychloroquine.

Is Qaren still popular?

The term peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and faded afterward, though it still appears in reply threads about anti-vaccine and QAnon figures.

Qaren

2020catchphrasedeclining

Published November 14, 2026

Qaren, a portmanteau of Karen and QAnon, labels middle-aged women who mix the entitled-customer stereotype with Trump-aligned conspiracy beliefs. Political consultant Rick Wilson coined the slur on Twitter on May 26, 2020, after a viral clip showed a Seattle woman furious that her doctor refused to prescribe hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19. By the next day, the Daily Dot was already covering the hashtag's rise.

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Overview

Writers deploy Qaren as a more politicized cousin of the Karen insult, reserved for women whose on-camera meltdowns also carry QAnon talking points or Trump loyalism1. Typical uses attach #Qaren to clips of women yelling at pharmacists about masks, cornering store employees over vaccine mandates, or demanding unproven COVID-19 treatments like hydroxychloroquine.

Urban Dictionary's top definition, written the same day the word surfaced, calls a Qaren 'a female Trump supporter who believes in the ludicrously wrong QAnon conspiracy theory and acts with the most absurd characteristics of a typical Karen and a conspiracy nutjob'3. Tone skews bitter instead of playful. Where Karen jokes often read as service-industry venting, Qaren posts land as political attacks aimed at anti-vaccine activists, election-fraud boosters, and figures like Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, cited in that Urban Dictionary entry as an archetype3.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Twitter

Creator

Rick Wilson

Date

2020

Political consultant and Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson coined Qaren on May 26, 2020, when he quote-tweeted a clip of a Seattle woman complaining that her physician had 'Trump derangement syndrome' for refusing to prescribe hydroxychloroquine 'just in case' she caught COVID-192. Wilson wrote, 'This Qaren is mad she can't get poison that Dr. Trumpenstein told her to talke,' and the reply attracted more than 12,300 likes within 48 hours4.

The source clip came from Twitter user @miarubee, whose account was later suspended, and spread through a repost by @ReesusP that carried the #Qaren hashtag and over 153,000 views in two days5.

How It Spread

Within hours of Wilson's tweet, Urban Dictionary user Berzerkergang filed a definition describing a Qaren as a female Trump supporter who 'acts with the most absurd characteristics of a typical Karen and a conspiracy nutjob'3. Wilson celebrated the submission in a follow-up post that drew over 16,600 likes in two days6. Replies to the clip joined in, including one from @lapetiteemily that paired the insult with a green-shirt-guy reaction GIF and the message 'A mask is all u got honey'7.

The Daily Dot ran an explainer on Qaren on May 27, 2020, documenting its roughly 24-hour trip from a reply-guy coinage to a trending hashtag1. Wilson noted the following evening that the woman in the original clip had her Twitter account suspended, writing 'Last night's Qaren got suspended. Lord' to 9,600 likes8. #Qaren stayed in rotation through 2020 and 2021 as a label for anti-mask activists and vaccine skeptics filmed confronting medical workers.

Timeline

2020-05-26

Rick Wilson quote-tweets a clip of a Seattle woman demanding hydroxychloroquine, coining 'Qaren'[2].

2020-05-26

@ReesusP reposts the video with the #Qaren hashtag, reaching over 153,000 views in two days[5].

2020-05-26

Urban Dictionary user Berzerkergang files the first Qaren definition[3].

2020-05-27

The Daily Dot publishes an explainer on the term[1].

2020-05-27

@miarubee's Twitter account, the source of the original clip, is suspended[8].