A St. Ives, England Santa is garnering a lot of attention after ripping off his beard and screaming, “Get the fuck out!” during a neighborhood Christmas event last week.
The Santa Claus — who, accompanied by his “Chief Snowman,” was at a community center meet-and-greet to pose with area children and give them a prize — lost his everloving mind when the fire alarm went off, reports Vice.
According to witnesses, the family-friendly atmosphere descended into chaos when Santa reacted rather unconventionally to the perceived emergency:
He came charging in, ripped his hat and beard off in front of 50-odd kids and started shouting and swearing at people to leave.
In came angry Santa swearing, using the most vile language. My friend’s little boy was upset as his dad was carrying him when Santa told them to ‘get the fuck out.
The fire alarm was reportedly triggered when someone attending a rave downstairs (SERIOUSLY?!) got a little too into the Christmas spirit (the 100 proof kind, I’m guessing) and turned on the fog machine.
Parents were understandably upset, claiming their children’s hopes and dreams were shattered by Bad Santa. Despite this, the party planner has apologized for Santa’s unbecoming behavior — while also defending his quick thinking — and is planning to host another event, this time without all the stripping and swearing.
I don’t know about anyone else, but this is hands down my favorite Santa ever. I mean, if and when your life is in danger, what do you want? A Santa who HO HO HOs his way through a polite request to evacuate, one that will likely go unnoticed by the masses until it’s too late, or a Santa who clearly and efficiently conveys the gravity of the situation, swears and all?
I’m going with option B.
As for the children, they’ll be OK. As parents must do in a host of situations, a few came up with a clever excuse for Santa’s uncharacteristic conduct, telling their kids “he wasn’t the real Santa. He was an imposter and will be going on the naughty list.”
Good save, moms and dads, though I’ve got to be honest. I might just use this experience as a deterrent for my children’s turd-like behavior: “If Santa gets that upset about a fire alarm, imagine what he does when little boys and girls don’t mind their parents.”