WINTER Wonderland has apologised after horrified visitors were disgusted at racist posters in their circus-themed bar.
The popular Christmas attraction was shamed for using two images of an advertisement showing dancers in blackface – as decoration.
Tik TokA visitor was stunned to discover the images inside a circus themed bar[/caption]
A shocked visitor was stunned to see the 1900s drawings and uploaded a video on social media.
Nazlee Radboy captioned her clip, shared on TikTok, and penned: “I don’t care if these posters are ‘fake’ or ‘a part of circus history,’ I think we should question why we still have circuses to begin with.”
The posters were originally advertisements for a circus, and show the De Elmar Trio acrobatic dance group.
A man named William H West was responsible for bringing together the troupe, who regularly performed sketches riddled with racist stereotypes while donning blackface.
American origins of blackface began with 19th century minstrel shows, in which white actors would use black grease on their faces when depicting black people, including slaves, on stage.
They were usually mocking and comedic performances which reinforced racist views that black people were inferior.
In the UK, The Black and White Minstrel Show ran on the BBC for 20 years up until 1978.
People flooded the comment section of Nazlee’s video with their disgust after seeing the posters.
“I’m stunned”, penned one shocked viewer.
“Winter Wonderland boycott”, added another.
“My jaw dropped”, agreed a third.
Someone else said: “Absolutely disgusting. Won’t be getting a penny of my money.”
Meanwhile another wrote: “Very unnecessary, what were they thinking.”
“That’s vile. The company needs to be fined or shut down and replaced,” said one angry viewer.
Nicky, 37, a liaison officer, was outraged and complained to Royal Parks.
She told Yahoo News: “In a day and age of awareness, how can such posters be displayed yet alone used.”
A spokesperson for Winter Wonderland told The Sun Online: “After being made aware of offensive imagery on a vintage vinyl wall covering in an on-site bar, we took immediate action to remove them.
“The experience and wellbeing of our visitors is our utmost priority and we apologise for any upset caused.”
The spokesperson added that the posters were chosen and sourced from a third party.
Tik TokThe posters, from 1900, were originally advertisements for a circus and show the De Elmar Trio acrobatic dance group[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
