A viral video shows Disney‘s Gaston actor breaking character after a woman inappropriately touched him.
The footage has garnered millions of views and ignited an intense debate regarding personal boundaries and respect in public spaces.
TikToker Evan Snead shared the clip online, alongside the caption: “This just boils my blood.”
In the video, he adds: “Please do not be that person.”
After watching the video, people have reacted in the comments.
One person comments: “How about we don’t touch ANYONE without permission?”
Another adds: “Good for him! If this was done to a woman people would be shocked and disgusted. Gaston had every right to ask her to leave!”
“No one shouts like Gaston, deals out clouts like Gaston, no one kicks inappropriate girls out like Gaston!” jokes a third.
Somebody else says: “She should not have touched him and I loved how he defended himself and said that there are children there and children should not be seeing that.”
A fifth person writes: “Everyone deserves to have their boundaries respected.”
However, others believe the actor ‘overreacted’ to the situation.
“He shouldn’t have screamed so loud, because as he mentioned himself, it’s a family place. And for the character to scream like that,” pens one viewer.
In agreement, a second says: “I feel like he overreacted. You can educate someone properly without embarrassing them.”
The clip surfaced on Reddit and according to Indy100 was originally shared on YouTube in 2015.
It shows an unnamed woman interacting with the Disney character Gaston, from the 1991 film Beauty and the Beast.
She attempts to touch the Disney character’s chest, leaving the man furious. He moves away to avoid further contact and orders the woman to leave.
He commands: “Get out. Now. Leave!”
Seemingly unsure of whether he’s serious, the woman tries to touch him again and the actor asks her to stop, asking her to leave once more. He reminds her that children are about.
In an interview with The Independent, Snead, who regularly makes videos about Disney and its theme parks, states: “I hope it sheds some light on treating others with respect and reaches people who otherwise wouldn’t have known proper etiquette when it comes to meeting Disney characters.”
Despite the video being controversial, it’s unclear whether or not the unnamed woman broke any rules.
On the Disney Food Blog, it states that guest should ‘remember that characters are people’ and to ‘please be respectful with your body language and comments.’
It adds: “Just like you would with any other person, keep your interaction appropriate and respectful.”