In the past few months alone, we have seen multiple controversies emerge concerning conduct between theme park employees and Guests.
This is why both Disney and Universal ensure that their Cast Members and Team Members are very well-trained to represent their respective theme parks in the best light possible. At times, however, someone’s actions could sway from the norm and give the company a much larger issue.
Now, two families are suing Universal Orlando after separate incidents during which an actor playing the “Despicable Me” movie character Gru made a racist hand gesture while posing for photos and video with biracial children.
Tiffiney and Richard Zinger, as well as Geisy Moreno and Joel Rodriguez said their children faced racial discrimination from costumed employees in separate instances at a resort hotel and theme park in early 2019, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
In one photo from March 2019, an employee dressed as Gru is seen holding a banana in one hand and making the “Okay” hand gesture with the other hand on the shoulder of the black child, referred to as J.Z. in court records.
In a second photo from February 2019, a costumed employee, also dressed as the Despicable Me character, is seen making the “Okay” gesture with one hand while posing for a photo with the Hispanic child, referred to as H.R. in court records.
It remains unclear if the two photos of the costumed Universal Orlando employee is the same person or two separate individuals.
While the “Okay” hand gesture, in most contexts, is “entirely innocuous and harmless” — notes the Anti-Defamation League — some now consider it a “white power” symbol, thanks to a viral hoax by members of the website 4chan in 2017.
In June 2021, the two families reportedly sued Universal in Orange County for more than $100,000 in total damages. They later increased their claims to over $75,000 for each plaintiff, and also sued Loews Royal Pacific Resort, after moving their case to the U.S. District Court.
In the lawsuit, the Hispanic family alleged the employee dressed as Gru initially ignored them because they were speaking Spanish, and continued interacting with English-speaking guests at the Universal Studios Florida theme park.
H.R.’s father said he had to beg the costumed employee for a photo, only to find that the Despicable Me character displayed the “Okay” gesture in the photo.
As for the incident involving J.Z., her family said the Universal Orlando employee not only made the “Okay” gesture, but also raised bananas over both the young girl and her mother’s heads in photos taken at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort.
According to the latest report from the Daily Mail, Universal Orlando has settled a discrimination lawsuit with two families. The terms of the settlement reached by the parties have not been made public. On September 12, the case was closed
Watch the video report below for more details:
Sources: AWM, The Orlando Sentinel, Daily Mail
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