Bird watcher targeted by racist “Central Park Karen” gets his own National Geographic show

The black bird watcher who made headlines in 2020 for a confrontation with a white woman in Central Park has now landed his own TV show.

Christian Cooper will soon be appearing on National Geographic as the host for the birding series exceptional bird watcher, The station announced this week.

Though no launch date has been set, the program will reportedly “take viewers into the wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds,” the broadcaster said.

“Whether it’s braving stormy seas for puffins in Alaska, trekking parrots in the rainforests of Puerto Rico, or scaling a bridge in Manhattan for a peregrine falcon,” the statement continued. “He goes out of his way to learn more about these extraordinary feathered creatures and show us the remarkable world in the sky.”

In May 2022, Mr. Cooper famously shouted at a white woman for walking her dog in a protected area of ​​New York’s largest park where he was bird-watching.

Amy Cooper (no relation), nicknamed “Central Park Karen” after she was filmed threatening to call Mr. Cooper the police. She was later accused of filing a false police report before the charges were dropped last year.

“I don’t think there’s an African American in America who hasn’t experienced something like this,” said Mr. Cooper The Washington Post back then.

The confrontation occurred on the same day that George Floyd, another black man, was killed by Minneapolis police. The murder sparked demonstrations across the United States against police brutality.

Ms Cooper has since completed training on racial prejudice, which her therapist reported in court last year was “a moving experience” for the woman, who was fired from her employer. She later accused her former employer of racial discrimination in court.

Social media users celebrated National Geographic’s announcement with one person saying, “That’s good karma.”