An actor dressed as Gru from the movie Despicable Me has been fired after he made a racist hand gesture on the shoulder of a six-year-old biracial girl while posing with her.
Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said earlier today in an email that what the actor did is unacceptable and confirmed he has been fired.
Her parents, Richard and Tiffiney Zinger, said the photo was taken at a character breakfast at Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando. Tiffiney said she was looking through the photos later and said, "Wait a minute. Why is this sign on my child's shoulder?"
In the video below, we can see "Gru" waving at the camera and beckoning the little girl to come forward. As she stands beside him, he puts his hand on her shoulder and then slides it forward while forming the upside-down OK sign, which is a white supremacist hate symbol to signify "white power."
The white supremacist accused of the mass murder of 51 people at two New Zealand mosques was pictured earlier this year using the upside-down OK symbol during a courtroom appearance.
The finger-and-thumb OK sign was officially added by the Anti-Defamation League to their database of hate symbols used by extremists last month.
"We believe law enforcement and the public needs to be fully informed about the meaning of these images, which can serve as a first warning sign to the presence of haters in a community or school," Jonathan Greenblatt, Anti-Defamation League CEO said in a statement. ~Alexandra Heilbron
I was trying to keep an open mind. I had no idea what the symbol was and after seeing the video, it is extremely clear as though the person was sending a message. Unbelievable. As a father of 2 biracial kids, I has no idea this hand gesture symbol existed and now I am going to be on the look out for it. How can this family look back on their vacation pics and vids and see this for the rest of their lives? A great family vacation time is now ruined with this horrible action.
That is ridiculous. That is not what that means. Everybody - EVERYBODY at my school, guys and girls played the game (non-sexual) where you make that ok circle and if a person looks, you get to punch them in the arm, unless they are quicker than you, and poke their index finger through the circle, then they get to punch you. This is ridiculous. Now I am 47 years old and a 22 year old girl at my mom's nursing home just got me with that, not realizing the depth of my experience :) when I immediately poked a hole in her circle. People are so eager to be offended. I think the Bible says in the end times many will be offended. This is nothing but a child's game, not a racist sign. I even had a friend send a picture of a guy making that symbol in like an infinity mirror, so he got me like 1000 times. It is hilarious. Not mean spirited. So ridiculous living in these cry baby days.
I didn’t want to believe it, but yeah, after watching the video it’s clear that he’s doing it on purpose. He actually moves his hand so it’s visible that he’s doing that. Disgusting. He should not only be fired but publicly shamed so no one makes the mistake of hiring him again.
Just because you used it as a game does not mean it doesn't have other meanings. Just like the symbols have had there meanings changed.
Thats the first time ive heard of this symbol. I wouldnt of thought anything of it.
I've never heard of anything so ridiculous. Whoever heard of the OK gesture meaning something other than OK. I agree with the person who wrote that it is not mean-spirited and I absolutely agree that we are living in "cry baby days". Today it seems people are looking to find something offensive in pretty much everything! Of course, I never dreamed that there was an "Anti-Defamation League".
I think this is obvious that this gross person in the costume is a bigot. The game you are referring to where you punch the person is played below your own waist, not on a half BLACK GIRL’S shoulder where nobody is ready to aim. Signs and symbols do mean things. Look at the nazi salute, and this symbol is circulating as being one of hate. Nobody is being a cry baby here, so maybe look at yourself for thinking this is acceptable! This person obviously isn’t someone that should work with kids in the public. Glad they canned him. Good choice!
That's "woke" for you. Be ready to surrender even your personal hand gestures to these fascists.
First of all June makes a great point. The Nazi swastika was co-opted from " a symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indian religions" and we all know what it represents now. That is pretty much a global consensus on that one. Never heard of this symbol either but I am glad I know about it now. What struck me first was the banana in the hand of the character- I am not familiar with this character so is holding a banana as part of its schtick because we know that banana can be a negative reference to African Americans. If there is no logical reason for this character to have a banana in his hand then it would bolster the argument that he was up to mischief. There is no comment from the fired employee but maybe he realizes he is lucky no one knows his name or face. There has been an Anti Defamation League in the US since 1913 though there has been defamation and hate in Americas pretty much from the start. The Puritans that came over to the US in the late 1600s saying they were fleeing persecution were the first ones to persecute other people for example. They persecuted the Quakers and the Amish in the early days and they were all white Europeans to start. The Puritans were the ones behind the Salem Witch hunts. Masters of hate and defamation and daring to use the word of God to justify it. Still going on in the USA.
@Doug Symbols change over time. Look at the Japanese manji symbol. The manji is used to denote Buddist Temples on a Japanese map. Do a google image search of manji and you will see how things change.
I never knew that was a racist hand gesture OR in reference to, as poor Doug says, a schoolyard game, the reason I say poor Doug is that I believe he is the one being duped into thinking this is a game, it is clearly a common reference to a sex act.....
After reading comments from Doug, Judy, and Wokesucks, they never experienced a day of racial discrimination in their lives. They don't understand and or don't care about how the 'Okay hand gesture' that we all did back in the day has changed. Once the hand is flipped upside down, the hand gesture symbolises white supremacy. The three finger spread, pinky, ring, and middle finger, represents the letter 'W' for white, and the circle of the index finger and thumb represents the letter 'P' for power. I had learn about this hate symbol myself after surviving a brutal hate crime and I had no idea what it meant until my attackers did it to me... I was set on fire at 15, while on my way home from high school. My attackers were a group of young, teenaged White supremacists, and I was their intended target all because of the colour of my skin. That's how I learned about it... This isn't a "Woke moment," this symbol has been around for over 25 years.
this is also a illuminati sign
Thank you for informing most of us, who now can recognize this symbol for what it is. I have seen it but did not understand the connotation.
Interestingly, while it may be a symbol of "white power," it also happens to be the ASL sign for *sshole.
Liz Nedd, I am sorry for what happened to you. I went thru something similar. He clearly knew what he was doing. Shame.
Some people like to live in denial. it’s easier to do when one is fortunate enough to have never experienced racism. The video was clear there was intention on part of actor. I’m glad this hateful moron was fired.
Liz Nedd, thank you for explaining this disheartening and cowardly crude gesture, inserted wilfully by a maniac who thinks nothing of targeting a little girl (and her family), getting off showing how much "superior" an individual he is. Co-opting symbols to turn them into hateful symbols for others is an old game - but we need to be very hard on all Nazi sympathizers and tell them in no uncertain terms that their cruel and shameful deeds led to 60 million gruesome deaths, fuelled by their sickening fanaticism and hatred (and axis sympathizers) with delusions of superiority in the 2nd World War. Their beliefs are maniacal, shamefully outdated and must be changed at all costs. It's still shocking that so many young people think nothing of being so hurtful to innocents.
First of all I would like to hear from the guy who is behind the mask if he is in deed a white sep,he will let us know that.I like many have never heard of this symbol being anything but an ok symbol. We give to much power and attention to these types of things.We should always be mindful of those few idiots that want to kill because they feel they are a superior race. That starts with better gun control and limiting the types of guns and to who they are sold. To the person who pointed out that some of the commentors had never experienced racism and that may be true I my self had not but as a child and teen I was bullied day in and day out because I was over weight. People spit in my hair they threw things at me usually rocks if we were outside and I know how that made me feel it really takes a toll. No i wasnt sat on fire and im not trying to make it sound like what you went through wasnt horrible but just because people haven't experienced racism doesn't mean they haven't endured other things. I think we should take these symbols back and use them for the good of mankind and show these groups they have no power.
Despicable! Does this mean Gru won't be appearing in any more sequels?
The symbols that are used are not themselves bad. Its the intent they are used for. Here is another symbol that got a bad rap. The swastika as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune is widely distributed throughout the ancient and modern world. The word is derived from the Sanskrit svastika, meaning “conducive to well-being.†It was a favourite symbol on ancient Mesopotamian coinage.