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Journalism of Courage
A troubling incident unfolded at Shanghai Disneyland when a man attacked an actor dressed up as Winnie the Pooh. Footage shared on Chinese social media shows the mascot cheerfully waving to guests when the man, dressed in a striped T-shirt, suddenly struck the character on the head. To everyone’s shock, the onlooker who attacked Pooh was caught on camera laughing after the assault.
His actions were obviously upsetting to the workers and other guests. Later in the clip, the mascot collapses, causing personnel to run to the performer’s aid. The artist was spotted clutching its head as it hastily left the scene after standing up again.
Watch the video:
The video has attracted more than 22 million views, received close to 2,000 comments, and has been reshared over 8,000 times on X.
Park officials reportedly confirmed the incident to the South China Morning Post, stating that the Pooh-dressed performer was not seriously hurt.
The park did not reveal the action taken against the man, although he was held accountable for his behaviour. Disneyland emphasised that their characters interact closely with guests and that there are typically no barriers between them. Despite this unsettling event, the park has no intention of altering its policies.
The internet clearly wasn’t happy with the actions in the video. Many users took to the comments section to share their anger and disbelief.
One user commented, “So uneducated and rude. He’s probably the kind of person who hits animals for fun.” Another added, “I feel sorry for them. They wear heavy costumes and withstand high temperatures while keeping their energy up.” A third individual wrote, “I wonder if his neck was okay? That grinning old man has a really bad personality. I don’t want people like this to come to the land of dreams.”
