Disney ‘regrets’ performance by visiting school drill team
Mar 18, 2022, 5:31 PM | Updated: Jun 13, 2022, 3:37 pm
In this handout image provided by Disney Parks, fireworks light the sky over Cinderella Castle during the Grand Opening of New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World Resort December 6, 2012 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Actress Ginnifer Goodwin, Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs, singer Jordin Sparks and Mickey Mouse joined dozens of Disney characters on Cinderella Castle stage to celebrate the opening. New Fantasyland is a new area in the Magic Kingdom and is the largest expansion in the 41-year history of the theme park. (Photo by Gene Duncan/Disney Parks via Getty Images)
(Photo by Gene Duncan/Disney Parks via Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Officials at Walt Disney World said Friday that a performance by a visiting Texas high school drill team that used American Indian stereotypes, including chants of “scalp them,” doesn’t reflect the Florida resort’s values.
The performance this week in the Magic Kingdom by the “Indianettes” drill team from Port Neches-Grove High School “did not reflect our core values, and we regret it took place,” Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said in an emailed statement.
An audition tape that the school had provided in order to be selected to perform at the theme park resort was inconsistent with the actual performance, the statement said.
Wahler said new measures have been implemented to prevent that from happening again. She did not elaborate.
In a video of the performance posted on Twitter, members of the drill team are seen tapping their hands over their mouths and whooping, as a drum pounds in the background, in what is stereotypically called a “war cry.”
Cortnie Schexnaider, the director of the drill team, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. Port Neches is located near the Gulf Coast about 13 miles (20 kilometers) southeast of Beaumont, Texas.
