Donald Duck Groping Could Cost Walt Disney Corporation $200,000
Woman Had Her Breast Groped by Person in Donald Duck Costume
In the latest of a number of recent incidents involving costumed characters at Walt Disney parks in the USA, the Walt Disney Corporation is facing a federal lawsuit as the result of a woman claiming that her breast was groped by someone in a Donald Duck costume.
The woman was spending the day at Epcot with her family, back in May 2008, and went up to Donald Duck to ask for an autograph, the lawsuit says.
However instead of giving her his autograph, she claims that Donald Duck grabbed her breast and then gestured that he had done something wrong.
The woman is suing the Disney Corporation for more than $50,000 in damages for each of the following: negligence, battery, negligent infliction of emotional distress and intentional and reckless infliction of emotional distress.
The filed complaint also added that the woman suffered "severe physical injury, emotional anguish and distress" and that the incident has caused acute anxiety, headaches, nightmares and flashbacks, among other emotional and physical ailments.
Although the case was filed originally in the civil court in Pennsylvania, where the woman lives back in December of 2009, the Disney Corporation has apparently had the case moved to the federal court.
There have been 24 additional complaints of similar acts since 2004, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office in California, where the Disney Corporation has it's headquarters.
We are all aware that at theme parks like Disneyland and Disneyworld, there are plenty of opportunities for people in costume to abuse their position, especially with numerous mothers and young children around, but if the personnel who work in the parks are adequately vetted, the incidents ought to be very low.
No matter what a company does, it cannot be regarded wholly responsible for acts like this, unless it can be proved that the company has been negligent in checking the profiles of it's employees.
As for the woman suffering such extreme emotional stress and nightmares, well anyone could having had a close encounter with Donald Duck I suppose, but I am sure that 99% of this is just another opportunity to make money out of what should have been a small affair.
Sources:
Published by Tony Payne
Tony Payne is a freelance writer who lives on the South Coast of England with his wife Debbie. He has worked in the IT Industry all his life, and has been writing on various sites for the last 10 years. T... View profile
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40 Comments
Post a CommentDonald should not be allowed to visit with his nephews anymore. Difficult to say what really happened.
Big deal. He didn't even touch her with his own hands. Costume fabric touched her breast. While it is extraordinarily rude, that does not constitute severe physical injury.
Good coverage.
I completely agree, Tony. Yeah, it's awful to be groped, but severe injury and emotional distress over the span of two years? I don't think so. Get the guy fired. Now, if Disney may not be screening their applicants properly and a lawsuit is a good way to uncover the truth, but she should be suing for court costs, getting responsible parties to account for their negligence, and that's it. Getting a couple hundred thousand dollars is a personal wealth grab.
Just another idiot out for money in the Land-of-Get-Something-For-Nothing. No wonder America's legal system is in such a mess. Because of fools like her :(
Unbelievable.
Good report.
Wow that could have been dangerous, working inside a costume and having your air cut off! I agree, there are two sides to every story. I think it's sad that "The Happiest Place On Earth" has to have so many sad stories to tell, especially if this woman is trying to sue them just to get rich quick.
There was an incident here (either last year or the year before) at DisneyWorld, where one of the characters were accused of hitting at a child. What really happened was the child was misbehaving, and somehow cut the air from the air tube that goes into the costume from reaching the person inside the suit. What appeared as him hitting the child, was actually the person inside the costume, trying to gain control of their oxygen. There's always two sides to every story.
Though I hate to sound like I'm judging this woman, I can't believe that being groped by Donald Duck in the middle of an amusement park would be so traumatic that she would have to sue the park for it. Get the guy fired. No way would something like that cause the kind of emotional stress she's talking about. How do I know? I've been raped AND molested. I completely agree with your last line.