Lots of families love to visit theme parks together, especially as the weather warms up and the parks are often open for longer hours.
Bailey Breedlove recently decided to take her daughter to Six Flags in Oklahoma City for a day of fun, family, and excitement. But sadly, the autistic mom got body-shamed and kicked out of the park by the manager and police officer over shorts “too shorts”.
This incident equally brought teary moments over the confrontation.
Breedlove alleged that a park security officer and manager at Six Flags’ Frontier City in Oklahoma City accosted, body-shamed, and banned her from any Six Flags for five years because the shorts she wore during an April 30 visit were too short, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
“I committed no crime and proceeded to walk to my boyfriend as I am autistic and have a hard time talking to officers. She followed me yelling and calling for backup. Then your incompetent manager showed up and began body-shaming me. I was told I needed to go buy new shorts which I am not obligated to purchase anything I don’t want to,” Breedlove wrote on a Facebook post.
Her 11-year-old daughter was also in attendance and, in a video, appears to be crying during the confrontation.
“Your policies are vague and confusing and the way you body-shame and discriminate is unlawful. I paid a lot of money at your park for our family vacation and I believe I deserve a refund for the trauma caused to my family over a pair of shorts on a hot day,” she added on Facebook.
Initially, the park too responded that the shorts were the reason Breedlove was in trouble.
In a statement, the park said:
“The guest was initially stopped because her shorts exposed a significant portion of her buttocks. She was given multiple opportunities to change or cover-up, but refused. Instead, she responded with profanity and offensive conduct, including further exposing her buttocks.” The park also claimed, “the video clip this guest has posted on the internet does not fully portray her behavior during this incident.”
Now, however, Six Flags is singing an entirely different tune. In its latest statement, put out on Twitter, the park makes no mention of Breedlove’s shorts at all. The company said,
“A guest was escorted from Frontier City because of her behavior towards the police, our team members, and other park guests. Six Flags does not body shame and did not remove this guest because of the length of her shorts.”
Even in the background of the video she posted, one person can be heard saying, “They’re saying her shorts are too small”.
That beg’s the question – who is lying here? If you ask social media, it seems like Six Flags is to blame. The statement has met with immense backlash, with many slamming the park for its ‘policies’.
Breedlove wants basic respect and felt that she did not receive it at Six Flags.
“I paid a lot of money at your park for our family vacation, and I believe I deserve a refund for the trauma caused to my family over a pair of shorts on a hot day. I will not be letting this go as this is 2021 and not middle school. The Oklahoma police department has been contacted as well as an attorney. I have a five-year ban now but will not be returning to any of your parks if this is how you treat women and law-abiding citizens and visitors. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Watch the video, which shows the encounter that led to Breedlove and her family being kicked out of the park — and reportedly banned from all Six Flag theme parks.
Sources: AWM, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
