Roof Jumper Resembling A 'Handmaid' Was Just An Umbrella

The Handmaid's Tale, an adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel, has been airing in tandem with the passing of more restrictive abortion legislation.

On Tuesday morning, creative strategist and comedian Casey McCormick tweeted about something alarming she'd seen out the window near her office in Manhattan. Someone clad in what looked like a red robe and a white bonnet cap, not unlike a character in the novel-turned-TV show The Handmaid's Tale, appeared to be about to step off a building ledge and jump. So she called the NYPD.

But when officers got to the rooftop, reportedly located in the vicinity of Park Ave South between 27th and 28th, they didn't find a human, just a red umbrella, complete with a white top.

McCormick tweeted that she received a text from NYPD shortly afterward, with a photo of someone holding the umbrella. "It's an umbrella," the text read. "All safe." Later, the NYPD quipped: "Blessed be the umbrella."

McCormick's tweet soon went viral. Chelsea Stoutenburgh, who works close by, replied and said she "almost did the same thing."

The Handmaid's Tale, which airs on Hulu, is an adaptation of Margaret Atwood's fictitious novel set in a dystopian society which views women as vessels for bearing children and little else. Given the real-life ongoing battles over eroding abortion rights, with restrictive legislation recently passing in states including Alabama, Missouri, and Georgia, the scare was particularly chilling.

“There’s just so much going on it wouldn’t surprise me if someone was taking a stand and it became very scary,” McCormick told the NY Post, referring to recent legislation. Over the past couple of years, protesters clad in Handmaid outfits have become ever-present at demonstrations concerning reproductive rights.