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Culture

Watch: Harpist's shocking run-in with a member of the public

By David Owens
Harpist Robyn Hearts encounters an unpleasant 'Karen'

We love the harp in Wales.

It's our national instrument and has been for centuries.

To us it's the sound of stringed heaven and provokes an emotional response whenever played.

How anyone can have a negative response to it is beyond out understanding.

That's why we were shocked when we viewed a video of a harpist which has gone viral with tens of millions of views.

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Startled

Robyn Hearts, a London-based musician, who can be heard adding to the high street ambiance with her beautiful playing was startled by one particular interaction with a member of the public.

She regularly live streams her public performances and sometimes shares clips of interactions with members of the public, be they sweet, awkward, or downright rude.

A video filmed last week in Harrow town centre has gone viral on social media with 12.6million views on TikTok and a repost gathering 17.3million views on Twitter.

Begging

In the video a woman threatens to report Robyn to Harrow Council for “begging”, but some cheeky subtitling replaces this with “Karen Council”. This has caused some confusion among international viewers who appeared to believe there actually is a “Karen Council” in England.

'Karen' is a slang term for a highly strung and rude woman, and is often levelled at someone perceived to have been rude to people in customer services.

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People particularly enjoyed seeing Robyn's cool-headed responses, including “alright” to the initial threat and a calm “yeah” when grilled over whether she had permission.

Many in the comments were particularly impressed by the unbroken harp rendition of George Michael's 'Careless Whisper' while holding the awkward conversation.

We think Robyn is fantastic and she is welcome to come and play in Wales anytime!

@robyn.hearts.harp Not again!! 🤦🏼‍♀️ #funny #karen #fyp #LIVEhighlights #TikTokLIVE #LIVE #rude #begging #harp #harpist #busker #livestream #ootd #weird #music #musician ♬ original sound - Robyn.Hearts

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10 comments

karl

We need more of her energy in our town centres. One of my faavourites for many years was pan pipes played on queen street. Music brings things to life.

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Richard Davies

Some beautiful harp playing from Robyn, I would love to hear IRL. That "karen" really doesn't have a clue and would've been better off keeping her mouth shut instead of revealing to the world how much of a fool she is!

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Bethan

Good elf maiden. Don't feed the troll.

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Grev

What a pathetic moron that Karen is get a life you silly little woman

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Another Richard

I find the use of the term "Karen" ageist and sexist. A previous comment to that effect was not approved, though I see you have allowed comments which are frankly abusive.

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blcollier

My mother is called Karen, how do you think she feels? It’s quite a short answer actually: she doesn’t care. Her name is Karen but she isn’t “a Karen”, and despite barely being able to use a mobile phone she knows the difference between the two. It’s the same as “boomer”: not everyone born in the “baby boom” years between 1946 and 1964 is “a boomer”. In fact, “boomers” can be a lot older or younger than people born between those dates, just like “Karen” can also be applied to younger women or even men. “Karen” and “boomer” describe your personality, not your age or your gender. It’s *who* you are, not *what* you are.

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Matthew Paul

Wait until you hear what people do with a certain abbreviation of the name 'Richard'.

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David RJ Lloyd

there’s nothing like stupidity to offer us time to reflect on how some people are just total prat’s. let the music win every time!!!

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Bethan

It makes me wonder what some people's ideal society would be. This is a young person, out of the house, whose learned a traditional skill, she is technically using social media but she's not glued to her phone, she's not picking fights, she's not blaring heavy metal or any music that might be considered anti-social and she's making her own money by using her craft. You would think older generations would be at most indifferent. It's not like street music is a new occurrence. What could possibly be her problem? Look inward lady. I think she saw someone who appeared to be an easy target based on the harpist just sitting their peacefully and not causing trouble which in the world view of a bully equates to a verbal punching bag. They're wrong so often. You'd think they'd learn but no. What is this woman's ideal society in ny opinion? Everyone being as bitter and hateful as she is. Sad.

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Riki

Yep, our national instrument ever Since the Anglo Saxons copied the Crwth. And then funny enough, when the Harp was taken to Ireland, it became the de facto Irish instrument, known worldwide.

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