Woman Mistakes Umbrella For Handmaid's Tale 'Jumper'

A woman was left alarmed when she spotted someone appearing to be dressed in a Handmaid's Tale costume about to jump from a building - only to discover it was a patio umbrella.

Sharing the story on Twitter, comedian Casey McCormick explained that when looking out of her office window in New York, she'd seen someone appearing to be dressed in a red robe and white bonnet, not dissimilar to those worn in novel-turned-TV show The Handmaid's Tale, standing on the edge of a building.

"Today I thought I saw a woman dressed as a handmaid about to jump from a building. I called 911," she wrote on Twitter.

Thinking the person might jump, Casey decided to call the emergency services.

Speaking to The New York Post, Casey explained: "There's just so much going on [politically] it wouldn't surprise me if someone was taking a stand and it became very scary."

Casey cited recent anti-abortion law, the backlash of which saw women dress up as handmaids to symbolise the oppressive legislation.

Hulu/Daniel Wilson Productions

But when the officers got to the building, thought to be located between 27th and 28th Ave., they (luckily) found nothing but a red patio umbrella with a white top.

After around 15-minutes, Casey received a photo from the officer she was in contact with, who posed next to the umbrella. "It's an umbrella. All safe," the text read.

"I literally melted into my chair," McCormick told The Post. "I was very happy it wasn't a real person and that everyone was safe [but] I felt so dumb."

Better to be safe than sorry, right Casey?

Naturally, people on Twitter found the whole thing kinda funny, and some even shared their own 'handmaids'. Another woman even posted a photo of the same perpetrator, saying that she too had been fooled by its handmaid-like qualities.

The Handmaid's Tale, which tells the tale of Offred and her fellow handmaid's plight against the oppressive forces behind the state of Gilead, returns for season three soon.

The end of season two shocked fans, as it saw June choosing to stay in Gilead and hand over her young daughter Nicole in order to rescue her eldest, Hannah. While we don't have an official plot for the new series, the trailer hints that June is taking an active role in the resistance, recruiting women to kick back against Gilead.

The Handmaid's Tale returns on Hulu on 5th June in the US, but there's no official word as of yet when we'll get it in the UK.

Topics: Entertainment, TV & Film

Ciara Sheppard

Ciara is a freelance journalist working for Tyla. After graduating from the University of Sussex, Ciara worked as a writer at GLAMOUR Magazine and later as the Assistant Editor of Yahoo Style UK.

@ciarasheppard