Family Says Character Flashed 'OK' Symbol While Posing With Their Child

A family who visited Universal Orlando, Florida thought they had a pleasant breakfast with some beloved movie characters while they were on vacation. However, when Tiffiney Zinger and her family returned home and reviewed their vacation photos, they noticed something incredibly disturbing. One of the characters had flashed a symbol associated with white nationalism while posing with their 6-year-old biracial child.

"We just wanted to take them to see the minions," Zinger told USA Today. "Do something special for our family and this person ruined that special warm feeling." 

Zinger told the outlet that her 6-year-old wanted to pose with the actor dressed as the "Despicable Me" character, Gru, while they were attending a Universal Orlando breakfast event back in March. As the child went to stand by the Gru character for the photo, the actor playing the character placed his hand on the girl's shoulder, forming the upside-down "OK" symbol.

The "OK" symbol has been co-opted by white nationalists and other far-right extremists in recent years after it began as a meme on 4Chan.

"At least some white supremacists seem to have abandoned the ironic or satiric intent behind the original trolling campaign and used the symbol as a sincere expression of white supremacy," the ADL wrote in a report that added the upside OK symbol to its database of slogans and symbols used by hate groups.

The Zingers said they didn't notice the incident at the time and only figured out what the actor did while they were reviewing their vacation photos in August. According to a spokesman with Universal Orlando Resort, the actor who portrayed Gru has been fired.

"We never want our guests to experience what this family did. This is not acceptable and we are sorry – and we are taking steps to make sure nothing like this happens again. We can’t discuss specifics about this incident, but we can confirm that the actor no longer works here," Universal Orlando Resort spokesman Tom Schroeder said in a statement to USA Today. "We remain in contact with the family and will work with them privately to make this right."

The incident occurred less than a week after the mass shooter who walked into a New Zealand mosque and killed 51 people, flashed the 'OK' symbol during a court appearance.

"I've been emotionally distraught about it. I'm still pretty upset that someone felt they needed to do this to children," Zinger said. "It can cause emotional stress on my child and her development." 

The Zingers told the outlet that while they're not motivated to seek any financial compensation from the park, they hired a lawyer after a lawyer for Universal reached out to them.