Universal Orlando is feeling the pressure after an employee in a ‘Despicable Me’ Gru costume flashed a white power symbol on two separate occasions while taking photos with children.
Two families are suing the Florida theme park after the actor posed in two separate photos flashing the white power symbol. The symbol is an upside-down “Ok” symbol which the Anti-Defamation League includes on a list of hate symbols.
A mom in the suit shared that back in March 2019 at Universal’s Loews Royal Pacific Resort, “He put his hand on her as if he was just doing it regularly, and as I was looking at the camera, he started to put the universal white supremacist hate sign on her shoulder,” Tiffiney Zinger, mother of a bi-racial 6-year-old, reportedly stated to USA Today. “… We just wanted to take them to see the Minions, do something special for our family, and this person ruined that special warm feeling.”
In February 2019, the accused allegedly committed the same hate crime while posing with a 5-year-old girl. The families are now suing for $30,000 in damages since one of the girls brought her photo to school and was told she couldn’t show the picture to her class.
“We never want our guests to experience what this family did,” a Universal Orlando spokesman reportedly told USA Today, previously mentioning that they fired the unnamed actor. “This is not acceptable and we are sorry — and we are taking steps to make sure nothing like this happens again.”
Discover more from Baller Alert
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
