A professional mall Santa is being slammed for leaving a four-year-old boy in tears after he refused to bring him a Nerf gun for Christmas.
The encounter took place on December 6 when a young boy named Michael went to visit Santa at Harlem Irving Plaza mall in Illinois.
Michael's mom Sabella has since posted a video of the incident, criticizing the mall Santa for refusing the gift due to "his own personal beliefs".
She wrote in full:
Remember when Prince Harry dressed up as Santa to send a heartwarming Christmas message?"My poor baby. This was the first year Michael was excited to go see Santa. It was supposed to be magical but instead I had to watch my sweet little boy fight back tears because Santa told him No because of his own personal beliefs.
"I had to think fast and explain to him that this Santa was just a helper and not the real guy. I just wanted to console my baby and get him out of there, flipping out on Santa would have only made it worse.
"His Elfie is going to bring him a Nerf gun directly from the North Pole, from the real Santa, tonight. Hasbro Gaming Nerf."
In the video, Michael can be seen on the other side of a large desk from Santa, with a plexiglass screen separating the pair.
When the little boy told Santa he would like a Nerf gun this festive season, the man from the North Pole refused without pulling any punches.
"No - no guns," he said. But when Michael's mom clarified that he meant a Nerf gun, Santa continued to refuse.
"Nope, not even a Nerf gun," he said. "Nope. If your dad wants to get it for you that’s fine, but I can’t bring it to you. What else would you like? There are lots of other toys; there are Legos, bicycles, there are cars and trucks. What do you think? What do you think?"
Unsurprisingly, Michael burst into tears at Santa's harsh response to his Christmas request.
Plenty of other people were equally as outraged by Santa's handling of the situation.
One commenter said: "This guy should be fired!!!! It’s not his choice to say no. who does he think he is you a**hole making that little boy cry !!!! To go see Santa is supposed to be a happy time."
Another added: "What a complete d**** bag!! How about some common sense Santa! Goof!"
A third wrote: "This broke my heart. That Santa should be fired. I can’t believe this."
Many people also branded the Santa as "woke".
But it certainly wasn't all bad for the four-year-old. In fact, he did end up getting his very own Nerf gun - from the real Santa, no less.
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