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In Forest City, North Carolina, mother Ashley Mayse made plans one Saturday to spend the day at the local mall with her son and her nephew. “This year we thought it’d be fun to take the carriage ride and let the kids ice skate and go see Santa,” she explained.
For the large part of the day, it was an enjoyable experience for everyone – until they went to go visit Santa.
When Ashley’s nine-year-old son, Anthony, went to have his turn to sit with Santa and take a photo, he was greeted not with holiday cheer, but an incredibly rude comment.
Anthony went up to Santa and sat on his lap, asking if he could have an iPod Touch and a drone for Christmas that year. Rather than agree, Santa replied with, “Lay off the hamburgers and French fries.”
“I went out and started crying, because I just felt so bad,” Anthony admitted. “[Santa’s comment] really just disrespected me, and I felt awful.”
His mother was infuriated. "[Santa] acted like he didn't want to be there to do the job," Ashley said. "Very rude. I've never seen anything like it.”
What made her most angry, however, was the fact that Anthony’s tears didn’t subside until he went to bed that day.
Anthony now wishes he could have said this incredibly body-positive message back to Santa, “You don't want to disrespect a 9-year-old. Even though what shape and size you are, it doesn't matter.”
Ashley has since contacted the mall and asked for the Santa to be pink slipped.
In response, Santa issued an apology to the Mayse family and his supervisor at the mall, but there has been no update on what disciplinary action – if any – has been taken.
One thing, however, is for certain: Anthony and his mother will never return to that mall again, Santa or no Santa.
