Raphinha, a forward for FC Barcelona, claimed that his 2-year-old son was subjected to racism at Disneyland Paris.
On the 6th (local time), Raphinha uploaded a video to his Instagram story of his visit to Disneyland with his son. The video showed his son Gael waiting for a hug from a Disney character mascot along with other children. However, only the white children were given turns to hug the mascot, while Gael was completely ignored.
Raphinha tried to lift his son and make eye contact, but the staff member in costume did not respond. He wrote, "Our son just wanted to hug the character," and added, "It makes no sense to treat a child like this," and criticized, "The Disneyland Paris staff are disgraceful."
Raphinha further pointed out, "Your role is to make children happy, not to ignore them. I understand it may be a difficult situation, but why did all the white children get hugs while only my son was ignored?"
As the video went public, criticism poured in on social media (SNS), with comments like "shocking scenes that trampled on a child's happiness" and "it's a bigger issue when such incidents occur at a theme park that should emphasize diversity and inclusion." There were also reactions supporting Raphinha, noting that his remarks had increased attention to racial discrimination.
Meanwhile, shortly after the incident, Raphinha's wife stated on social media that "Disneyland took our complaint seriously and took action." She later revealed photos of her son holding hands with the Mickey Mouse mascot in a separate area.