Family outraged after a Universal Studios employee in costume made a white power hand signal
The actor has been fired.
An actor in a Despicable Me costume at a theme park made a white power hand signal as he was taking photos and video with a Black child.
A little girl’s fun trip to Universal Studios in Orlando with her family took a dark turn when her parents noticed an employee in costume flashing a white power hand signal in a video with the child.
Tiffiney Zinger, the parent of a 6-year-old old autistic girl, was appalled when their daughter posed with the character Gru from the Despicable Me movie and the actor formed the upside down “OK” on her daughter’s shoulder. It was all captured on camera USA Today reports.
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The little girl was attending a character breakfast earlier this year at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort, which is one of the amusement park’s signature events where most kids are over-the-moon excited about seeing cartoon characters in real life.
But it wasn’t until Zinger reviewed a video of the moment that she saw the employee placing his hand on her daughter’s shoulder and then flashing the sign that has become known as a calling card for white supremacists.
The ‘OK’ hand gesture, made famous by white supremacists, and the ‘Bowlcut’ hairdo worn by “Charlotte Nine” killer Dylan Roof, are just a few of the hate symbols recently added to an Anti-Defamation League database.
The actor has been fired from the amusement park.
“We never want our guests to experience what this family did. This is not acceptable and we are sorry – and we are taking steps to make sure nothing like this happens again,” said Universal Orlando spokesman, Tom Schroder.
“We can’t discuss specifics about this incident, but we can confirm that the actor no longer works here. We remain in contact with the family and will work with them privately to make this right.”
Tiffiney Zinger is Black, and her husband, Richard Zinger is white. They said they went on vacation to Universal Orlando just a week after the New Zealand killings where 51 people were gunned down in two mosques. They went to Orlando from Colorado along with their daughter and a younger son.
“We just wanted to take them to see the minions,” Tiffiney Zinger said. “Do something special for our family and this person ruined that special warm feeling.”
Despicable indeed.
Watch a clip of the shocking video below:
