Disney Fires Employee After Video Shows Racial Altercation With Guest
By Kelly Coffey-Behrens on August 21, 2023 at 8:45 PM EDT
A now viral TikTok has resulted in a Disney employee being fired following an altercation between the Cast Member and Guests, who reportedly used racial slurs.
Altercation Between Cast Member and Guest Results In Firing
The TikTok was also shared to Twitter by user Princess Peach, who has also been discussing the altercation with other fans.
Princess Peach shared, “For context: I took out the Cm’s name, but it’s obvious that no Cm would act like this unless they were pushed to it. For a guest to do this, record them and post it thinking the internet would defend their actions is disgusting. Start respecting cast members and what they do.”
https://twitter.com/hecallsmePP/status/1692697130211623162
The Disney fan continued, “Start actually protecting your cast members from the horrible behavior of your guests that we have all seen online since the return from the pandemic. Enforce the consequences of the actions when your guests break your rules. It’s unacceptable.”
Within the thread of Tweets, many users said that the Disney Cast Member was called the N-word by the Guests, resulting in her anger, however, that has not been confirmed by Disney.
Following the video going viral, Disney reportedly fired the Cast Member. Princess Peach on Twitter continued, “Unfortunately, I learned that this Cm was let go and had 24 hours to leave CP housing. According to her, she was harassed and called racial slurs by this family. I’m very disappointed in Disney with this decision, especially for a company that preaches inclusion.”
At the time of publication, the Walt Disney Company has not released a statement regarding the incident or the firing. Additionally, there is no distinct proof of what happened prior to the altercation caught on film.
Disney's Efforts To Tell Diverse, Inclusive Stories
The Disney Parks and The Walt Disney Company have been making strides toward inclusion and diversity.
In 2020, Disney Parks announced that the iconic attraction, Splash Mountain, located at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, would be rethemed into a “Princess and the Frog” ride. This move was made as the attraction is based on the film “Song of the South,” which is highly controversial as many deem it racist. The movie mixes live-action and animation and features an older African-American plantation laborer named Uncle Remus, who tells stories to a young white boy. Groups, including the NAACP, protested the film’s initial release.
And in 2021, Jungle Cruise at Disneyland and Walt Disney World was reimagined to tell the story of Rivers Journey. The new version of the attraction was part of Disney’s efforts to tell diverse, inclusive stories across the theme parks. Disney Parks Blog shared at the time that the company is “building on the story of the Jungle Cruise at both Disneyland park at Disneyland Resort and Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World Resort to include new adventures that stay true to the experience we know and love — more humor, wildlife and skipper heart — and also reflect and value the diversity of the world around us.”
Plus, earlier this year, Disney released its live-action "The Little Mermaid", starring African-American singer and actress Halle Bailey as Princess Ariel.
