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Mother calls for Universal Orlando to name actor who flashed hate symbol over girl’s shoulder

Mother calls for Universal Orlando to name actor who flashed hate symbol over girl’s shoulder
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Mother calls for Universal Orlando to name actor who flashed hate symbol over girl’s shoulder
A Colorado mother says she is so consumed by thoughts that her biracial child was the apparent target of bigotry by an employee at a Universal Orlando hotel that she can't sleep at night. "You just can't believe that someone would do this to your child,” Tiffany Zinger said in an interview Friday with WESH 2 News. Zinger said she found out months after visiting a Universal Orlando hotel that a "Despicable Me" character had his hand on her daughter's shoulder forming the OK sign, which Zinger and countless others identify as a hate symbol. “You feel targeted. Someone's targeting your child. Someone's targeting you and your family and they didn't mean any good intent,” Zinger said. Zinger said she and her husband, who's white, own a home in Orlando, and in March attended a character breakfast with their biracial kids at Loews Royal Pacific Resort. She didn't notice the OK sign then but said she didn’t think the actor was friendly.“We wanted to take pictures with the kids. He didn't seem that he wanted to be near me,” Zinger recalled. Zinger says she spotted the symbol in the photos months later. She says it was a challenge explaining to her daughter, who's on the autism spectrum, why the pictures couldn't be used in a school project.According to the Anti-Defamation League, the OK sign is used to express white supremacy in extremist circles, and in light of recent mass shootings, Zinger says she wants Universal to name the actor."Next time, it could become deadly, we've seen what happened with El Paso and we've seen what happened with New Zealand, and the guy used the same universal white supremacist sign," Zinger said. Universal confirmed the actor is no longer an employee. In a statement, a spokesperson said "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."

A Colorado mother says she is so consumed by thoughts that her biracial child was the apparent target of bigotry by an employee at a Universal Orlando hotel that she can't sleep at night.

"You just can't believe that someone would do this to your child,” Tiffany Zinger said in an interview Friday with WESH 2 News.

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Zinger said she found out months after visiting a Universal Orlando hotel that a "Despicable Me" character had his hand on her daughter's shoulder forming the OK sign, which Zinger and countless others identify as a hate symbol.

“You feel targeted. Someone's targeting your child. Someone's targeting you and your family and they didn't mean any good intent,” Zinger said.

Zinger said she and her husband, who's white, own a home in Orlando, and in March attended a character breakfast with their biracial kids at Loews Royal Pacific Resort.

She didn't notice the OK sign then but said she didn’t think the actor was friendly.

“We wanted to take pictures with the kids. He didn't seem that he wanted to be near me,” Zinger recalled.

Zinger says she spotted the symbol in the photos months later.

She says it was a challenge explaining to her daughter, who's on the autism spectrum, why the pictures couldn't be used in a school project.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the OK sign is used to express white supremacy in extremist circles, and in light of recent mass shootings, Zinger says she wants Universal to name the actor.

"Next time, it could become deadly, we've seen what happened with El Paso and we've seen what happened with New Zealand, and the guy used the same universal white supremacist sign," Zinger said.

Universal confirmed the actor is no longer an employee.

In a statement, a spokesperson said "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."