A woman has sparked outrage after she was spotted pushing Chewbacca at Walt Disney World, which ultimately ended the Star Wars character’s interaction with a group of children.
In a video posted to TikTok last month, a travel blogger named Maria, @nightmareadventures, documented Chewbacca and Rey, two characters from Star Wars, speaking to a group of children at Hollywood Studios in Disney World. The woman portraying Rey could also be seen saying lines from of the popular space films, as Chewbacca continued to stand next to children.
However, in the middle of the interaction, a woman began to approach Chewbacca from behind, before she went on to scream in his ear and slightly push him.
After Chewbacca turned around to look at the woman, Rey stepped in and said that “because” of that guest, they had to “move elsewhere”. The clip concluded with Chewbacca and Rey walking away.
In the text over the video, Maria emphasised that the guest’s behaviour was the reason why the Star Wars characters stopped speaking with the children.
“When a grown adult ruins the experience for the kids because she thought she was being ‘funny!’” the travel blogger wrote. “Poor kids stood there confused when Rey and Chewie walked away.”
Maria further expressed the meaning behind her video in the caption: “Don’t be that adult that ruins a nice interaction between kids and characters because you think you’re being funny.”
Speaking to The Independent, Maria further described the interaction between Chewbacca and the woman that she witnessed.
“While Rey was explaining how important it is to pay attention, that’s when the lady slowly started to walk backward and attempted to scare Chewie,” the TikTok user said. “It’s hard to tell what Chewie’s reaction was, but Rey quickly removed the both of them from that situation and said, because of that they had to go. She also told everyone ‘May the Force be with you.’ My nephew asked if he could take a photo, but she kindly declined and said no because they had to go.”
Maria went on to explain why she shared the video, as she wants it to encourage Disney guests to be “mindful” of their behaviour and what’s going on around them.
“I just hope that if anything comes out of this video it is that we should all be mindful of others’ park experiences and to not ruin it for others by doing something you clearly know you shouldn’t, even if you think you’re being funny,” she said.
As of 10 October, the video has more than 3.5m views, with TikTok users in the comments expressing their anger about the guest approaching Chewbacca.
“Should be a lifetime ban for putting hands on cast members,” one person wrote.
“Why must people touch everything? I see parents scold their kids for not touching anything, but [parents] turn around and can not keep their hands to themselves,” another viewer claimed.
A third person wrote: “She could have seriously hurt the actor. They’re on stilts.”
Multiple viewers also emphasised their frustration about the children’s experience at the theme park getting cut short.
“I would be so upset if an adult ruined that experience for me,” another wrote, while another said: “The way I would have told her “thanks for ruining this” just to make her feel bad.”
Some people questioned why the guest touched the Disney character in the first place, one of whom wrote: “What was the logic of it though. Like what made her think that she should scare him. There was no common sense behind that at all.”
The Independent has reached to Disney World for comment.
