The Walt Disney
Co. is issuing a formal apology to a San Diego man
for an incident at Disneyland that the company claims
was a misunderstanding but which the man asserts was
antigay bias.
The Walt Disney
Co. is issuing a formal apology to a San Diego man
for an incident at Disneyland that the company claims
was a misunderstanding but which the man asserts was
antigay bias.
Wil
Kenney claims he was targeted and harassed by
Disneyland security -- as well as roughed up by
Anaheim, Calif., police -- because a Disney staff
member overreacted to Kenney's holding another
man's hand.
According to
Kenney, he and his partner -- along with two other
same-sex couples and their children -- were walking through
the theme park's Downtown Disney area on
Saturday when Disney security detained them. Security
claimed Kenney had threatened someone with a gun,
which Kenney denied. Anaheim officers were called to
the scene and, according to Kenney, forced
him face-first into a wall
and then frisked, searched, and interrogated him
in front of hundreds of Disney
guests. According to Kenney, officers left the
scene after finding no weapons on anyone in his party.
Kenney says he may have been targeted by police
because a Disney employee grew nervous seeing Kenney
holding hands with his partner, which he believes then
led to the chain reaction of events.
Rob Doughty, vice
president of communications for Disneyland, says the
whole incident was a misunderstanding that had nothing to do
with Kenney's sexuality. Doughty claims Kenney
made a hand gesture that a Disney crew member
interpreted as threatening. Doughty says security came
over and detained Kenney and his group, who grew angry, and
that police were then called to the scene. "He
made his hand look like a gun," Doughty says. "Someone
interpreted that as a gun."
One of Kenney's
friends at Disneyland was Brian van de Mark, the owner of
a communications and marketing firm that focuses on social
justice issues. Van de Mark is serving as Kenney's
media representative, and he says there was no
threatening hand gesture. Van de Mark says that after
the police left the scene, Kenney and his group demanded a
meeting with Disney security manager Deana Van Noy. At
that meeting, according to Van de Mark, Van Noy
told the group that she "could not remember whether
the cast member [who contacted Disney security] said she was
threatened, felt threatened, or was offended," and that she
then added, "It doesn't make a difference anyway."
Doughty could not
confirm that Van Noy used those words. Doughty, who is
head of Disney's employee gay group, says Disney staff were
not even aware Kenney was gay until two hours after
the incident.
"Our policy is,
everyone is welcome," Doughty says. "If a same-sex
couple wants to hold hands at our park, that's fine."
Doughty says the
apology was being issued for the misunderstanding over
the hand gesture and denies that a homophobic employee
started the whole scuffle. "I can assure you, this is
a company that would not tolerate that behavior from a
cast member," he says. "We're a very welcoming
company."
But Van de Mark
claims that Van Noy refused to apologize to the group,
and that after the meeting plainclothes Disney security
followed them around the park. According to Van de
Mark, the group patronized a Disney store, where
a Disney employee asked how their day was. When they
answered that it had not gone well because they had been
harassed by security personnel, Van de Mark said the crew
member told them, "Well, in fact, you're still being
followed," and pointed to plainclothes security
officers in their midst.
When reached for
comment, Anaheim police sergeant Rick Martinez also
denied the incident had anything to do with the guests being
gay. When asked whether Kenney was pushed against a
wall and frisked, Martinez said, "I would define it as
'detained.' [Kenney and his group] might have
been frisked." (The Advocate)
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