Skirt 'Flips Up' in Tokyo Disneyland Parade
Minni Mouse Points Out Character Lifting Skirt
A video from a parade show at Tokyo Disneyland featuring a character wearing a deer costume lifting the skirt of the Minnie Mouse character has sparked controversy over sexual harassment.
At a parade in Tokyo Disneyland, Japan, a performer wearing a Rudolph costume is lifting Minnie Mouse's skirt. [Photo by X (formerly Twitter)]
According to reports from major media outlets on the 6th, Tokyo Disneyland's parade is facing a flood of sexual harassment criticism. The controversy arose when a user on X (formerly Twitter), a type of social networking service (SNS), posted a video of the Disneyland parade held on the 4th.
In the video, the character in the deer costume suddenly lifted the skirt of the Minnie Mouse character who was on the parade float. Minnie Mouse appeared startled, placing her hands on her waist and wagging her finger to point out the deer's inappropriate behavior.
At a parade in Tokyo Disneyland, Japan, a performer wearing a Rudolph costume is lifting up Minnie Mouse's skirt. [Photo by X (formerly Twitter)]
The netizen who posted the video said, "Sexual harassment occurred at the Tokyo Disneyland show," and added, "The deer lifting the skirt is really the worst."
Netizens who saw the video reacted with comments such as, "What if children imitate this?", "It's surprising that such things can still happen in 2023," "This is a place where innocence should be protected, but they will only learn bad things," and "Sexual harassment at Disneyland?"
Foreign media reporting on the controversy stated, "If you search on X, you can see that 'skirt lifting' is not just this time but has continued from the past," and added, "It is unclear whether this act was an official performance by Disneyland, but it is receiving unfavorable attention."
As criticism continued, Oriental Land, the operator of Disneyland, said, "We are investigating the details," and apologized, stating, "We apologize for giving our guests an unpleasant impression."
Meanwhile, Tokyo Disneyland celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. Since its establishment on April 15, 1983, 800 million people have visited Tokyo Disneyland over the past 40 years.
According to the interim consolidated financial results announced by Oriental Land in September this year, Tokyo Disneyland's sales increased by 39.3% compared to the same period last year, reaching 284.3 billion yen (approximately 2.5721 trillion won), and net profit nearly doubled to 54.5 billion yen (approximately 493.1 billion won), both setting all-time records.
With the lifting of entry restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign visitors have recovered, and the number of visitors increased by about 40% to 12.5 million. The annual number of visitors this year is expected to exceed previous forecasts, reaching 26.3 million.
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