Lisa Alexander

Lisa Catherine Alexander is a fashion designer and the founder and chief executive officer of LAFACE Skincare, a vegan skincare line based in San Francisco, California, United States. She is the wife of Robert Larkins, a former employee of Raymond James, a financial firm is based in San Francisco.

At around 4 p.m. on June 9, 2020, Alexander and Larkins confronted James “Jaime” Juanillo, a Filipino-American man writing the words “Black Lives Matter” on a retaining wall outside a house in Pacific Heights, San Francisco. The couple had no idea they were talking to one of the co-owners of the house who has been living there since 2002.

“Is this your property?” Alexander asked Juanillo. “Hi. I’m asking you. This is your property?”

“Why are you asking?” Juanillo asked. Both Alexander and Larkins emphasized that it was a private property.

“Are you defacing private property or is this your building?” Larkins asked Juanillo. “You’re free to express your opinions but not on people’s property.”

“Absolutely, just respectfully, so we’re just saying, absolutely, your signs and everything and that’s good,” Alexander added. “This? This is not the way to do it. It’s private property.”

“But if I did live here and this was my property, this would be absolutely fine?” Juanillo asked. “And you don’t know if I live here or if this is my property?”

“We actually do know,” Alexander lied. “That’s why we’re asking.”

“O really?” Juanillo was surprised. Alexander told him they had the reason to believe that he did not live there because they knew “the person who does live here.”

“I suggest you call them or call the police because you’re accusing me of a crime,” Juanillo told Alexander. The couple did call the cops and when they arrived, they recognized the owner of the house, did not even step out of their patrol car and left.

It was Larkins who talked to the operator. Through a public records request, the audio of the call was obtained by the San Francisco Examiner on July 9, 2020.

“I don’t appreciate him taking my picture,” Alexander can be heard saying in the background of the call. She also mentioned about owning a business in San Francisco and she does not “really want to be on social media and he yelled at me calling me a Karen.”

The Filipino-American homeowner took a video of the encounter, uploaded it on social media and it quickly went viral. On June 14, 2020, Alexander issued an apology.

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Because of the viral video, LAFACE Skincare had to shut down its website and social media pages. Alexander also deleted her Twitter account but before that, she tweeted an explanation.

“I asked if he lived there because if he had said yes then everything would have been fine as it was his property,” Alexander said of Juanillo. “Being a good neighbor is important where everyone takes care of each other. It is too bad he took it in a different direction.”

On June 13, 2020, Birchbox announced it would no longer serve as the distributor of LAFACE Skincare in the future. The beauty subscription service condemned Alexander’s actions shown in the viral video.

Because of the incident, Alexander was included in America’s list of Karens, or white women who tend to complain a lot and display entitled behavior because of their privilege. Here are 13 more facts about her:

1. She came from a fifth-generation agricultural family with deep roots in California history. She is William Alexander and Catherine Doane Alexander‘s daughter.
2. She is Leslie Alexander Barth, Lindsey Alexander Bressani, Lorie Alexander Lindsey and Matthew Alexander‘s sister. Their mother, who is a native of San Jose, California, died on January 23, 2011. An architect by profession, their father was the first person in the U.S. to process sun-dried tomatoes.
3. She grew up on a ranch called the Pleasants Ranch in the Pleasants, California. She also lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Sterling Heights, Michigan, USA and in various parts of California including Los Angeles, Carmel, Oakland, Hillsborough and Winters.
4. She is an expert in sustainable businesses, organic products, green design and day-to-day green living. Her agricultural background gave her the inside scope on the harmful effects that certain ingredients have on skin complexion and the environment. Her motto is, “Master the art of age reversal, through what nature has given and what science has perfected.”
5. She is 5’9″. When she was in college, she modeled in runway shows in New York. She also modeled in Paris, France.
6. She grew up helping with her family’s business. She experienced running a fruit stand in summer and cleaning mud off beets in winter.
7. She is the founder of Mo Bettah, a pickle company she eventually sold to Williams-Sonoma.
8. She started the womenswear line LC Alexander and children’s clothing lines Spike & Annie and PlayAlexander. She uses all natural eco-friendly fabrics.
9. She supported numerous charities in San Francisco. On April 1, 2009, she previewed fall fashions for Spike & Annie in Lindsay Bolton’s house in Pacific Heights A percentage of the event’s sales went to Pets Unlimited in her honor, according to SF Bay Style.
10. In April 2010, she told San Francisco Examiner, “Your home is a reflection of your personality just like the way you dress is a reflection of your personality.”
11. In March 2012, she told SF Gate, “Growing up on a ranch, you develop a natural curiosity about the world and what’s out there. I think that’s why I wanted to try so many things. I’m not afraid of making a mistake.”
12. In March 2016, she told HuffPost, “Creating beauty products that are effective is achievable without harming our environment. It takes extra steps and a big conscience but it can be done.”
13. She was 54 years old when she encountered Juanillo on June 9, 2020.