A woman took to social media to accuse Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, of taking action against her after she reported a man for behaving suspiciously at the theme park.
In a viral video that has racked up over 357,000 views as of this writing, TikToker BookAsh (@realpainash) shared what she said went down while she was in the theme park with her husband.
“So my husband and I caught a [pedo], at um, Universal,” the woman began in the clip, silently mouthing the shortened word for pedophile to avoid TikTok censorship. “And we did our due diligence and reported it.”
However, it appears that the act she believes was done to help others may have backfired.
“The supervisor of the park security kicked us out and didn’t so much as talk to the [pedo],” she alleged.
What happened?
The TikToker went on to say the whole ordeal began while she and her husband stopped for pizza after leaving Universal Studios. That’s when they allegedly spotted a man recording what she called “juvenile females” and following them for “like 15 minutes or so.” She said they decided to report the man to the park’s workers.
Initially, the workers seemed to be “alarmed” by the report, according to the TikToker. The TikToker said the issue escalated from worker to supervisor and then eventually to the sheriff’s department.
Ash said they also decided to alert the parents about the man’s strange behavior. According to Ash, they recorded his behavior and then approached the children’s parents with their evidence. Ash said her husband and the security guard also continued to keep an eye on the man.
However, Ash said that when the police arrived, the officers tried to blow the whole thing off.
“‘So what are you hoping is gonna happen here?’” Ash said an Orlando PD officer asked.
Was he doing anything unlawful?
Ash said the officer then explained it was not illegal for the man to film in public, even if children were involved. According to Ash, he also informed her that unless the children were in compromising positions or undressed, they had no legal protection from being filmed.
She also claimed he said he could ask for the man’s phone to see what was on it, but there was no guarantee he’d comply.
“The Fourth Amendment exists for a reason,” she agreed. The Fourth Amendment protects all citizens from unlawful seizures or searches by the government.
Ash said that park workers eventually said the most that could be done was for him to be asked to leave. Still, Ash said they hesitated to track the man down to boot him out.
Ash even claimed a park employee resorted to “victim blaming.”
“‘Those parents should’ve been doing a better job of watching their offspring to prevent something like this from happening,’” Ask said the worker said.
The TikToker said the police and park workers eventually became irate with them because they reported the incident and were upset that the park and police refused to take action. The couple was escorted from the park after the husband “raised his voice a tiny bit” and used expletives in defense of the children and their parents, Ash said.
@realpainintheash We honestly thought @UniversalStudiosOrlando ♬ original sound – BookAsh 📚🤱🏻🌻🏳️🌈
The video sparked criticism and backlash
In the comments section, many pressured Universal Studios Orlando to take action so similar experiences could be avoided.
“Universal doesn’t have a tiktok, but they do have a twitter. Make sure they see this!!!” user Taylor Paugh said.
“Universal studios … isn’t a public place, it’s a private business,” another viewer said. “The park [employee] should have been on board with it being wrong, they’re [an] employee & something not ok just happened in their [establishment].”
“Maybe Universal Studios should create a policy to idk ban these creeps?” user CaptainZ0m wrote.
They were also horrified by the way the concerned couple was treated.
“That’s so heartbreaking,” user Erica said. “I’m glad you guys said something.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Universal Studios Orlando and the Orlando Police Department via email. We also reached out to TikTok user BookAsh through a TikTok comment and direct message.
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