Who is Karla? Everything to know about the TikToker behind the Kis Cafe drama

Social media influencer Karla, who goes by the TikTok handle @itskarlabb, is going viral on the internet after the Kis Cafe controversy, involving chef Luke Sung.

Karla is a Bay Area-based food influencer who visited the café in Hayes Valley for a planned collaboration. The influencer’s content primarily focuses on food reviews, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and commentary on her dining experiences. She is reportedly married and was accompanied by her husband during the visit.

Before the incident, she had just 15,000 followers on her TikTok. However, after the Kis Cafe controversy involving chef Luke Sung, she has become famous on TikTok, gaining a large following and crossing 340,000 followers on TikTok as of July 27.

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What went down between Karla and Kis Cafe?

After visiting the Kis Cafe for a potential collaboration, Karla overheard chef Luke Sung talking to another person, where he was not happy with her small following of 15000 followers. Explaining her side, she said in the TikTok video, uploaded on July 23,

"He is not having it, saying to the host that he shouldn't have invited me and that this was a mistake and that this was bad."

In another statement, she added:

"He was saying I had too little followers. I am turning red because I am so embarrassed, and I feel really disrespected."

The chef reportedly asked if she knew what they (the cafe) do and whether she had done any research before coming for the collaboration. In her video, Karla said she shared what she knew, but was still called out for not doing enough research. She also mentioned that the chef played her TikTok videos at full volume during the conversation.

Talking about the incident, she further added:

"At this point I’m crying, and I want to get out, so I tell him that I’m no longer interested in doing the collab. I tell him that I felt disrespected because they were talking about me right in front of me and belittling my work."

After the incident, Kis Cafe released a statement on their Instagram that read:

"Our chef’s behavior was unacceptable and he is no longer part of the team as a co-owner, a chef or in any other way. As of this post, he (Luke) has reached out to the creator with a personal apology."

The statement continued:

"We are closing soon and restructuring after these events. In the meantime, we hope to still be able to sustain the livelihoods of our team members and their families. Lastly, we understand the frustration and anger, but please do not use this lapse in our values as an opportunity to foment racism and hate speech towards us and our loved ones."

While several reports claimed that Kis Cafe fired the chef, the cafe clarified in a statement that he was not fired, as he chose to leave on his own. They also mentioned that the paperwork is being processed, which may take some time to be finalized.

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Chef Luke Sung issues an apology statement

On July 27, the cafe released an official apology from chef Luke Sung that read:

"Karla – I am truly sorry for my actions towards you. I was condescending, hurtful, and intimidating. You did not deserve to be made to feel less than or unimportant, nobody does. Regardless, I thank you for teaching me a valuable lesson in kindness and respect."

In the post, Luke added that he doesn’t want to offer any excuses and has stepped down from his role at the café permanently. In another statement, taking full responsibility for his actions, he wrote:

"I also want to be clear the responsibility of this whole situation is mine alone and my behavior should not be a reflection on anyone else who works there, or anyone who is related to me. I truly care about my staff and am devastated that my actions have impacted both them and their families."

The post also included an apology to Luke’s daughter, Isabelle, acknowledging the impact his actions had on her.

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Karla thanks her fans for the support after the Kis Cafe incident

Karla’s follower count has grown massively over the past few days, with the Kis Cafe incident bringing huge attention to her account. Following the viral moment, the TikTok influencer released another video, thanking her audience for the support and messages she received:

"I woke up today to the most supportive and kind and genuine and encouraging comments and messages. I could not be more grateful and shocked at how much empathy you guys have toward basically a stranger on the internet."

Kis Cafe's Google rating remains at 4.4 stars. However, the cafe's Yelp ratings has come down to 2.7 stars.

The incident has caused mixed reactions across the internet. While many have come out in strong support of Karla, praising her for speaking up, others have criticized her, questioning her intentions and the way she handled the situation.

A user, @SusanDReynolds, wrote on X,

"This is happening far too often — this woman doesn’t even use her real name. She went from 15K to over 200K followers because the press picked up her whiney crybaby story. Get a job lady. Restaurant margins are razor thin."

Another user, @deffjeff, added on X:

"Do you even know when he was nominated for the James Beard award? 2000 & 2003, a quarter century ago... & bro wants to like he's still relevant?! I bet next time he disrespects someone he'll think twice... cause now he's out of a job & she went from 15k followers to almost 400k."

One more user, @FlightChaotics, posted:

"Why does any influencer think they are entitled to anything free? Is this the new welfare masquerading as something valuable to hard working business owners?"

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As of now, Kis Cafe has not shared any updates regarding their reopening date or details about a new chef.

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