After user feedback labelled Velma a “Karen” for her propensity to call the police after a crime was solved, Warner Bros. changed the Scooby Doo video game “MultiVersus.”
When enough evidence had been collected against a suspect, Velma, the bookish brunette member of the crime-solving group, was meant to be able to flash a “wanted” poster and signal for the police to arrive.
However, some of the 20 million players of the free game, which includes characters from all of the Warner Bros. films, did not like that change. Since its July debut, the Discovery catalogue.
Although the game has gained popularity among internet users and received mostly good reviews, some players were not pleased with white lady Velma’s unique power to report characters to the police, including Space Jam’s Lebron James.
A change.org petition asking the firm to delete the police vehicle from a chase scenario featuring Velma received only 34 signatures.
The petition claims that “Black & Indigenous people of colour around the world have suffered under police brutality for decades, and especially in recent times,” and that “this cop car is ignoring the problem of police brutality in this day [and] age.”
Another Twitter user said that as a black guy, he felt uneasy with Velma’s usage of police enforcement in the game.
The user ‘he who vibes’ added, ‘I am liking Velma in Multiversus but main(t)aining a character who’s special move is calling the cops on her adversaries surely don’t feel good with me as a black guy haha.
Some members of the online gaming community found it uncomfortable when Velma in the video game decided to report her criminal adversaries to the police. She was instantly labelled a ‘Karen’
Warner Bros. changed Velma’s signature move on Thursday after receiving internet criticism. As soon as she is through with her convicts, she summons the Mystery Squad to come get them.
The update was implemented along with a number of other minor changes that were made to the game after it was released, but the firm provided no explanation for it.
In recent years, the word “Karen” has been widely used to describe a white lady who often complains to the police about people of colour or requests to meet with a management, for example.