A Southern California woman recently went viral after she posted a video to TikTok explaining why she won’t return her shopping cart after putting groceries in her car, and she defended her stance on the KTLA 5 Weekend Morning News on Saturday.
“I’m not returning my shopping cart, and you can judge me all you want,” Dr. Leslie Dobson, a Los Angeles-based clinical and forensic psychologist, said in her May 29 post, which has racked up nearly 12 million views and hundreds of thousands of comments. “I’m not getting my groceries into my car and getting my children into the car and then leaving them in the car.”
“So, if you’re going to give me a dirty look, f*** off,” she added.
The video struck a chord with many on social media, which led some users to label Dr. Dobson, a single mother of two, as “entitled” or a “Karen” and suggested she bring her children with her to return the cart or consider the “shopping cart theory.”
“I have three kids and I either park right next to a [shopping cart] return or bring them with me to return the cart,” one user said. “It’s just the decent thing to do.”
However, others voiced their support.
“100% agree with you…I always returned my cart and now that my kids are older I do again,” another user said. “But not until I had little ones did I realize exactly what you are saying. I’m not leaving them in the car without me, period!”
In a follow-up video posted on May 31, Dr. Dobson doubled down on her opinion, saying that 265 children were abducted in American parking lots, and half of those victims were sexually assaulted.
“As a single mom returning your shopping cart, you are prime for a predator to watch and grab you,” she said in the video.
Dr. Dobson joined the KTLA 5 Weekend Morning News on Saturday to defend her stance and speak to two other mothers – KTLA 5’s Megan Telles and Lauren Lyster – about why the video sparked so much outrage and how she’s dealing with the backlash.
“I am shocked, but I am also very happy, because I’ve received hundreds – maybe to the point of even thousands – of messages from moms saying, ‘I pulled into the spot, I’m looking at my surroundings and I’m more aware now’,” she said. “I know the video was provocative, but that’s what I wanted…I wanted to grab attention. It’s the bigger picture of ‘We need to empower ourselves to trust our intuitions’.”
According to Dr. Dobson, parents – mothers in particular – are “minimized,” and emphasized that simply getting small kids in the car can be a challenge.
“Coming from the mindset of someone who has worked with predators for 20 years, I know how they think, and I know what they look for, and that is a vulnerable moment,” she stated. “When you return to your car, you have already been watched for a significant amount of time, so if you are choosing social niceties over protecting your children, I just wanted to say that you don’t have to.”
The clinical psychologist told KTLA that she has received death threats, and she has been doxed online since posting the video. While she remains saddened at some of the “wild” comments, she is hopeful that some can take their online hatred towards her and direct it towards child safety.
Overall, Dr. Dobson believes that she is doing her part to take power back from the predators, even if it means causing controversy.
“We have taken power back from predators because now, this is a worldwide conversation, which I am shocked by,” she said. “But honestly, if we have awareness, then that predator isn’t going to be able to do what he intended.”
Before she left, Dr. Dobson cleared the air about her overall shopping cart returning habits.
“I always return my shopping cart, but if I don’t feel safe and my kids are in the car, they are my priority,” she said. “I’m putting it somewhere safe and prioritizing the safety of my kids.”