A former Disney World performer is speaking out about a disturbing encounter she had with a guest while portraying Rapunzel during her time in the Disney College Program; an incident that left her shaken and ultimately led to intervention from park management.
Katrina, who shared the experience in a now-viral TikTok video that’s been viewed over 570,000 times, said the incident occurred when she was just 19 years old. She was playing Rapunzel at the Town Square Theater, part of a popular meet-and-greet attraction at the park.
“I told a guest I wouldn’t take a photo with them because of their inappropriate tattoo of the Disney princess,” she recalled.
The interaction started during the evening fireworks set, when Katrina and two other Disney “princesses” were stationed in the theater for one-on-one guest experiences. At one point, a man entered the room alone (no family, no children) just himself, the performers, photographers, and a character attendant.
“A man came in during our fireworks set… he was the only guest in the room,” Katrina explained. “He came up to me and was like, ‘Oh, Rapunzel, I want to show you my tattoo.’”
What followed left her stunned. “It is a risqué, to say the least, photo of Rapunzel with only her hair covering her bits and some suggestive adult things going on,” she said. “Then I realize, this guy’s whole body is covered in tattoos like that of the princesses.”
Katrina said the moment quickly escalated from uncomfortable to unsettling. “Next, he asks me, ‘Can I have a hug?’ I said ‘No.’ Then he said, ‘Well, can we take a picture?’ and I said ‘No. None of us are going to take a picture with you.’”
According to Katrina, the man appeared “upset” and moved on to one of the other princesses in the room, seemingly hoping she hadn’t seen the exchange. But Katrina immediately flagged the behavior to the attendant, asking that management be contacted right away.
“I’m explaining [to the attendant], ‘You need to get a manager. This guy needs to cover up. None of us need to see photos like that of our characters,’” she said. “Or give him a hug or don’t need the character taking a picture next to that kind of a tattoo for that to be out online.”
“It was like, this is bad,” she added with a nervous laugh. “Red flag, red flag. Sirens going off.”
A manager arrived promptly and gave the man an ultimatum: either cover his tattoos with long sleeves and sweatpants or leave the park with security escort. “It’s unclear whether the guest chose to comply or was removed from the premises,” Katrina said.
The video sparked widespread support for the former cast member on social media, with many viewers applauding how she handled the uncomfortable and inappropriate situation at such a young age.
“Shout out to you for not freezing which is what I would’ve done at 19,” one commenter wrote.
“I’m so proud of you. That’s so uncomfortable,” another user added.
“I could not imagine being 19 and experiencing a moment like that while in character,” another person shared. Katrina responded, “I[t] was definitely shocking to me, and I was worried I would get in trouble. Thankfully my team had my back!”
Katrina’s story adds to growing conversations around cast member safety and guest behavior in family-themed environments, especially in situations where employees must maintain composure while in character.