Christian Cooper has turned a would-be tragic situation into something positive.
If you remember back in 2020, Cooper was in Central Park birdwatching when he was approached by a loose dog. The dog happened to belong to Amy Cooper, and when she was asked to put her dog on the leash by the birdwatcher, she called the police and accused him of threating her.
The entire incident was caught on tape by Christian and Amy was the one charged for false reporting and eventually lost her job. After the video went viral, Amy became known as the “Central Park Karen” and it caused national outrage because another white woman was trying to falsely criminalize a Black man for no reason.
Christian Cooper has since been contacted by Disney to have his story told on their streaming platform. In a statement, they wrote, “Since his run-in with the Central Park Karen, National Geographic TV, and Disney Plus have managed to turn his hateful experience into a hosting opportunity doing what he loves most. Birdwatching of course.”
The statement continued, “The new documentary series is called Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper.” National Geographic also gave a rundown of the show.
“Life-long birder Christian Cooper takes us into the wild, wonderful, and unpredictable world of birds. Whether navigating volcanic terrain in Hawaii for elusive honeycreepers, trekking into rainforests in Puerto Rico for parrots, or scaling a bridge in Manhattan for a peregrine falcon, he does whatever it takes to learn about these extraordinary, feathered creatures and show us the remarkable world in the sky above.”
The series is set to premiere on the National Geographic Wild Channel on June 17 and then on Disney Plus on June 21.