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| Update: Save Tigger from sex trial, Disney says |
| 2004-07-31 |
| EFL- I added some comments but this one is fertile ground for all to enjoy. A leopard can't change its spots, but Walt Disney World wants to hide Tigger's stripes -- at least when the costume of the bouncy tiger shows up next week in court in a sexual-molestation trial. To protect the frenetic feline's innocent image, a Disney lawyer has suggested that the orange Tigger costume be dyed black or white and its ears be removed. The lawyer made the request to the attorney representing Michael C. Chartrand in the trial that is scheduled to start Monday. Yeah, make him look like piglet so that the kid can't identify Tigger in the line-up. Chartrand was suspended after he was charged with molesting a 13-year-old girl in February while he was dressed as Tigger at Disney World's Toon Town. Any case in which a child's storybook character is linked to a sex crime is bound to be strange. But the arrest was just the prelude of what now promises to be a bizarre courtroom showdown. For example: Chartrand's lawyer, Jeffrey S. Kaufman Jr., also has played Tigger at Disney and works part-time as a costumed character at the theme park. He said he reached out to Chartrand because he thought he was uniquely qualified to defend him. Prosecutors hope to use as evidence about 200 photographs of tourists posing with Tigger and other characters. But the defense claims there's no way to prove Chartrand was in all the photos. The victim's family has contacted a lawyer about suing Disney. It is the threat of such litigation and the fear of bad publicity that has Disney in full damage-control mode. They don't mind being associated with Michael Moore, but if a guy in a furry tigger suit cops a feel of a ten-year-old and her mom, then Disney calls in the bimbo-eruption team. "Disney doesn't want this costume out there," Kaufman said. "They want to protect their copyright. They want to take off everything that would make it look like Tigger," a character from A.A. Milne's children's books. Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak confirmed that company attorneys had expressed concern to both Orange-Osceola State Attorney Lawson Lamar's office and to Kaufman about using the Tigger costume during the trial. "Our hope is that the use of our costume will be handled with appropriate sensitivity so as to preserve Tigger's value However, Polak would not comment on Kaufman's statement that a Disney attorney had suggested taking off Tigger's ears or coloring the costume. He said he refused to let the costume be "bastardized" because an altered Tigger suit might reflect poorly on his client, making him look demonic or freakish. He would not be specific about how he intends to use the costume during the trial. I guess verticle balck and white stripes would be out of the question. Kaufman said he has played Disney characters for about seven years. "No attorney on the planet could represent this guy better than me in this case," he said. Representing molesters, now that what tiggers do best. Disney officials would not confirm that Kaufman worked as a character, saying they do not comment on personnel issues. Is it possible that Kaufman will represent Tigger pro bono just for the opportunity to wear the costume again? Kaufman expects jurors to take the costume with them during deliberations where they can handle it and put on the mask and gloves. Kaufman said he hopes by doing that they would be able to tell how difficult it would be to grope a young girl. The suits are often bulky and have limited eyesight, say Kaufman and others who have played characters. Kaufman compared the Tigger paws to "oven mitts," with the thumb separated from the other fingers. This has potential to become like an acid induced parody of the most famous portion the OJ case. -snip- |
| Posted by:Super Hose |