Outrage after 'cringe' video of mall Santa asking deaf boy's mom to 'fix' him goes viral
A viral video on Facebook showing a New Zealand mall's Santa Claus caused uproar online after asking a deaf child's mother whether she could "fix" his hearing.
“I kept up my smile but wanted to get [out] of there as quick as possible!” said Bridget Ferguson, the boy's mother, in the description of the video, which she posted to her son's Facebook page. Ferguson was accompanying her 5-year-old son, Carter, who is deaf and communicates using New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), to meet Santa Claus in Wellington when the event
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In the video, Carter is seen seated on a stool close to the mall Santa Claus and his mother asks him what he wants for Christmas, using sign language. Santa responds, "Eh?" to the enthusiastic boy's request for a gold Iron Man figurine, leading his mother to translate the message for him.
Then, in an epically dumb move, 'Father Christmas' turns to Ferguson and says, "Is there nothing you can do to help him with surgery?" according to her captions. "No, there's no need for that," Ferguson responds. Santa, apparently not getting the point, asks, "Nothing you can do to fix it?" "There is nothing to fix — we have sign language," she says again.
The cringe-worthy footage ends with mall Santa taking a present from the pile for Carter, who thanks him and runs away with his mother. Ferguson was outraged by Santa's rude behaviour while putting on a brave face throughout the encounter. “It’s awful having to answer these questions in front of Carter – when we are there to talk about his Christmas Wishlist!” she said.
“What an insanely offensive thing for Santa to say!” one outraged Facebook commentator exclaimed, while another added, “It’s Santa that needs fixing.” “I thought [sic] okay bit awkward and then he said ‘that’" one enraged admirer fumed. "....my jaw dropped and I was speechless.”
Others praised Ferguson for her cool temperament in the face of Santa's utter lack of understanding. "Kudos to you for remaining so composed in the face of such adversity!" One admirer said, "I wouldn't be able to restrain myself," while another added, "Your strength and grace as a mother is remarkable. I'm sad Carter has to face a world that isn't ready for him." Ferguson said that this wasn't the first time she'd "had this chat with Santa".
After reportedly ridiculing a hearing-impaired client in a similar incident in Mississippi in 2018, KFC staff were compelled to undertake sensitivity training.