SICK

Universal Character Actor Fired After Making ‘OK’ Hate Symbol Over Shoulder of 6-Year-Old

A theme park employee playing Gru from “Despicable Me” made gesture known to be a hate symbol on the shoulder of a biracial autistic girl during a photo.

Universal Studios’ Orlando theme park said it has fired an actor dressed as the movie character Gru from Despicable Me after he was shown making the upside-down “OK” sign, recognized as a hate symbol, on the shoulder of a 6-year-old biracial, autistic girl during a recent breakfast event in March. A spokesman for the resort told USA Today the actor had been fired and declined to comment further. “We never want our guests to experience what this family did. This is not acceptable and we are sorry,” the resort said in a statement. “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.” The hand gesture is said to show the letters W and P for “white power” and has been condemned by the Anti-Defamation League as a coded symbol of support for white supremacy.