Brazilian Santa Claus Fired by Mall in Brazil for Refusing to Hug, Take a Picture With 4-Year-Old Autistic Boy

A mall in Brazil has fired a Brazilian Santa Claus for refusing to hug and take a photo with a young autistic boy.

According to the Daily Mail, Shopping Sul mall in Valparaíso, Brazil, fired the Brazilian Santa Claus after he made four-year-old Daniel Alves unhappy.

Alves' mother, Angelica Alves, took her son to the mall Sunday and said he was a little "agitated" while waiting for his turn to have a picture with Saint Nick.

The mall reportedly hired the man to dress up as Santa Claus but had to fire him for declining to have his picture taken with the autistic boy.

Mall in Brazil Fired the Brazilian Santa Claus After Rejecting the Young Autistic Boy

Angelica Alves told the Brazilian newspaper Metropeles that her son approached the mall's Santa Claus for a snap as he was looking forward to meeting the bearded holiday character all year.

However, Angelica said the Brazilian Santa Claus said no and "that there would be no picture." Angelica and his son lined up, and she informed the others in the line of Daniel Alves' condition, as he was acting restless while waiting for his turn.

Angelica also told the Brazilian Santa Claus that her son was autistic, and this was when he refused to take a holiday picture with the boy.

Angelica also shared a photo that shows the not-so-jolly Christmas character looking away as a female Santa helper tried to console the young boy standing in front of them.

The Brazilian Santa Claus then told the mother to take her son and leave before calling on another child to have their picture taken together. Angelica noted that after they were turned away, she felt very embarrassed and did not want to argue.

According to Globo 1, the mother called her son's treatment "inhumane." She also said she was not able to ask anyone for help and did not know how to react at the time, so they just left the place.

Autistic Boy's Mother Files a Complaint to Shopping Mall in Brazil

Angelica Alves then contacted the management of Shopping Sul mall to file a complaint, and the Brazilian Santa Claus was fired on the spot.

The mall then hired a new Santa Claus and invited the family back, so the autistic boy can finally have his photo taken with a jolly Saint Nick.

Angelica said it was painful to see her son getting rejected, and it hurt a lot. She added that she wanted her autistic son to be "included in society as a normal person, as a normal child."

The mother of the autistic boy noted that Daniel "undergoes therapies and treatments and never in my life did I imagine that a character for children could do this to him."

"So, we were really sad, but I was happy that the mall took care of the pain and helped us," Angelica told Metropoles.

For its part, Shopping Sul mall released a statement to Metropoles and publicly apologized to Angelica and Daniel. The mall noted that the incident does not reflect the company's values, which base its relationships "on principles such as ethics, respect, and equality."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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