fired! Universal Orlando character who made 'OK' symbol on 6-year-old's shoulder

[Demovictory9]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/01/universal-orlando-resort-fires-despicable-me-actor-after-ok-symbol/3791483002/

?crop=3023,1701,x0,y1161&width=3200&height=1680&fit=bounds

Tiffiney Zinger said it was painful telling her daughter she couldn't use a family vacation photo for her second grade class project – the image was marred by what appeared to be a symbol of hate.

The photo shows the 6-year-old girl, who is biracial and has autism, posing with an actor dressed as the movie character Gru from "Despicable Me" during a Universal Orlando breakfast event attended by the Zinger family in March. The character formed an upside-down "OK" symbol with his fingers, recognized by some as a hate symbol, on the girl's shoulder, according to a photo and video reviewed by USA TODAY.

A Universal Orlando Resort spokesman said Tuesday in response to USA TODAY inquiries about the episode that the actor had been fired. The spokesman, Tom Schroder, initially declined to further comment but then issued a statement:

"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. 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."

[hlthe2b]

11. An innocent child imitating what she saw the character do. I'm sure the parents calmly explained it

in a way such a young child could understand.

You think that they should REPRIMAND her? REALLY? Are you trying to defend the adult a'hole in costume by pointing out the child was mimicking? That so misses the point of what is happening here.

[boston bean]

15. I don't see the child making the "same" sign.

Even if he were you think a child that age would understand and he should be reprimanded by his parents.

Nice deflection but truly useless comment.

[rainin]

16. That's ridiculous! That small child isn't making a hate sign.

The adult clearly is. And of course, when the child is much older, he/she can be taught about hate signs. Much older.

[Pacifist Patriot]

17. The child's pointer finger is the one sticking out, not the middle finger.

It's not the same hand position. It also looks like more natural hand positioning and was caught in motion because of the blurring in the photo. He wasn't standing there "making a sign."

You might want to rethink your comment.

[Iggo]

19. Okay, that's enough.

[LanternWaste]

22. "One in a row who prove the old saying..."

Yeah.

[Blue_Tires]

24. You're trying too hard...

[whistler162]

40. It isn't me who is trying to hard.

but please proceed!

[qazplm135]

26. awwww...

someone doesn't know their index finger from their middle finger.

Keep working at it...you'll get there.

[Generic Other]

30. Racism is A-OK to some

[Generic Other]

31. Another dog whistling

[Generic Other]

32. Not OKay

[Generic Other]

35. This is how they identify themselves

[hlthe2b]

51. OMG. I'd never seen that pic of Mel Gibson doing that (though his antisemitism obviously no secret)

Do you know when that occurred?

[StarfishSaver]

34. You're joking, right?

Because otherwise ...

[Afromania]

2. Some punk ass schlub probably went home to cry on the computer about

how brown people in Amerika are keeping them down. You're keeping yourself down by being too damn stupid for reality. His/her sorry ass couldn't just do their fucking job and take a picture with a special needs child. NO, this mother fucker has to go out of their gotdamn way to do that shit.

So, now they... no.. it.. is, like I said before, out their crying about losing their job and the consequences behind it and putting the blame on the people accosted with that fucking (I have no word for it other than guttoral sounds) garbage.

How fucking hard would it have been to just not do any fucking thing? Take the fucking picture and move along? These sick fucks can't avoid to take any chance they can to do weasel shit like this. You wonder

Everybody worried about a civil war in this country remember that their ranks have to be filled with crunchy trash like this person above. Remember that voting for that "guy" took the same sort of cowardly mentality as the person in the suit up there and these people like to fight proxy wars.

[whathehell]

5. He/she was "in character"..The banana and yellow capsule were "props"

The hand gesture was not. What is it you don't understand?

[hlthe2b]

8. I can not BELIEVE you are defending this, lindysalsagal

I just can't...

THIS is what you are defending:


'OK' is now a hate symbol, the ADL says

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/26/us/adl-new-hate-symbols/index.html

[hlthe2b]

44. I believe you meant this for the other poster. I just posted that ADL had documented its use

as a white power/white nationalist symbol...

[Iggo]

45. Yep, you're right. I'll redirect it.

[hlthe2b]

46. ..

[Iggo]

48. I did it again!!!

[hlthe2b]

49. psst.. I think the problem is that the post you meant to respond to has apparently been hidden.

Oh, well.

[Iggo]

50. LOL, no. I was trying to reply to the OP, but I keep forgetting to click on the OP first.

Oy vey.

[SMC22307]

47. Believe it. (n/t)

[Ilsa]

12. A White Power hate symbol at a biracial, disabled child?

The family couldn't use the pic because of the hate speech.

[whathehell]

4. What kind of scumbag does that with a little kid?

The mofo deserves to be fired.

[Cosmocat]

29. I gotta tell you, I would have hit DEFCON 1 if that had been my children

Would have taken every last bit of restraint I had from drop kicking him (presumably) and absolutely would have demanded to speak a manager right then and there.

Good on these folks for dealing with it.

[RandiFan1290]

6. Here come the white supremacist defenders again.

They can't wait to show up in these threads to defend these people.
I am just glad they can't use the ADL as an excuse anymore.

[hlthe2b]

9. It shocks the hell out of me to see the defense of blatant acts as this.

Does it take the "actor" holding a noose in his hand to make it clear?

[Beakybird]

7. No one's fingers naturally makes this sign.

It's intentional. The little child is imitating the Gru character.
This is a recognized white supremacist symbol.

[Dorian Gray]

10. For all those of you defending him....

Universal fired him. So there must have been some evidence that it was an intentional racist slight on his part, rather than an unintentional hand sign.

I know a lot of people out there haven't realized or read about the okay sign being co-opted as a white supremcist sign. But in this instance, on the kids shoulder, he isn't giving an OKAY to the camera. He's hiding the symbol while resting it on the child's shoulder.

Perhaps he has a history of this. Perhaps he's said some racist stuff while at work. Perhaps evidence of his attitude is apparent, and the firing warranted.

And sarcastically defending this as people being "too sensitive" is really ugly.

[Maeve]

20. Agree entirely

If it was unintentional, they would have counseled, not fired

[dalton99a]

21. +1. About as unintentional as Zina Bash at the Kavanaugh hearing

[TheBlackAdder]

23. Perhaps Disney reviewed the digital images of their house photogs and noticed a trend.

.

That is not a natural hand gesture and requires forethought.

.

[obamanut2012]

37. Universal

And, I am betting they did this with minority kids, and the inventory you mentioned is something they did and nailed him.

[Dorian Gray]

41. Yep....

If they got a complaint, they probably went through everything he's done. Interviewed coworkers about his (I assume his) rhetoric.

[boston bean]

13. Stomach churning. His ass deserved to be fired.

[LuckyCharms]

14. The OK symbol is now no longer the OK symbol under some

circumstances because it has been co-opted for real, even though that action started as a purported hoax to "own the libs". That phase is gone now, because it has now morphed into bona fied hate symbol if used in certain contexts.

So I guess that means that when someone uses it, one must look at the context in which it was used.

In this context, my initial reaction would be that it is being used by this prick as a hate symbol, especially since he was fired for it...because I'm assuming a determination was made by management before the firing took place.

[whathehell]

18. An "own the libs" fail, it would seem.

[MagickMuffin]

25. Too bad we don't know this cowards identity

He gets to remain a Despicable, at least he deserves that for the rest of his DESPICABLE life!!!

[Sneederbunk]

27. How do we know the actor was fired and won't be appearing as Goofy on Thursdays?

[dewsgirl]

28. Goofy would be Disney. And as an AP holder for the last 20

years Universal will not put up with this nonsense, period.

[Demovictory9]

39. why would Universal risk him behaving like that in another costume? theme parks are very

careful about who they allow to hold positions that interact with the public

[Catherine Vincent]

33. That was blatant.

What an ass.

[Hortensis]

36. Good. Universal Orlando obviously found cause on investigating,

AND this creep gets to look for a new job with this on his record. The article doesn't identify him, but his name's likely on social media somewhere, or will be.

[progressoid]

38. Those assholes have ruined my ability to use this...

[yortsed snacilbuper]

43. The scumbag.

[3catwoman3]

54. How ironic that the actor is in costume from the...

...Despicable Me movie. Damn right you are despicable.