Snooty BFI cinema kicked out woman suffering with Asperger’s because she LAUGHED too loudly
SNOOTY BFI Cinemas have apologised after a woman with Asperger's Syndrome was kicked out for LAUGHING too loudly during a screening.
Tamsin Parker was ejected by staff from the BFI South Bank theatre after a customer complained during a screening of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly yesterday, April 29.
Taking to Twitter about the incident, fellow filmgoer Lloyd Shepherd said: "Can't believe what I've just seen. Left @BFI screening of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly after a woman with Aspergers was forcibly dragged out of the cinema.
"She'd been laughing very loudly but at moments which were supposed to be funny. Some people complained.
"She was dragged out shouting, "I'm sorry I have Aspergers." She was incredibly upset.
"Some people applauded her being removed! Others stood up and shouted how terrible it was. A large number of us left."
He added: "As far as I know the man who shouted: "Shut the f**k up, b***h' was not removed, despite the abusive gendered language."
In further tweets, the filmgoer said he was "shaking with anger", adding if there had been "a little bit of empathy... everything would have been fine."
Other customers who had witnessed the incident also took to Twitter with one saying she was "sick to her stomach" and appalled by what happened.
The woman's sister, Sabrina Parker responded to a tweet saying they were "horrified" by her sister's treatment.
"[My sister] is home and watching the rest of the movie. As old fans of the BFI we're horrified they would treat her so badly.
"Obviously she's still very upset," she said. "It's her favourite movie and it was her 25th birthday celebration."
She later added: "We're incredibly angry, but thank you to everyone who walked out or tweeted in response, your support means a lot.
"BFI you got some apologising to do," she said.
Tamsin's mother Lydia also posted on Twitter saying her daughter told her she was "forcibly removed from the cinema for laughing too much and was being held in security".
In a statement, BFI said: "We are sincerely sorry to those affected by the incident at Sunday's screening at BFI Southbank.
"Our priority is for everyone to be able to enjoy our venue and we try hard to provide a good experience to our customers.
"However, yesterday, in what was a challenging and complex situation, we got it wrong.
"We are taking this situation extremely seriously and this morning we have been investigating further to understand what happened in more depth and contacting the customers affected.
"We can and must do better in accommodating all the needs of our customers and we will be addressing what additional provisions and staff training we can put in place to deal with all situations with sensitivity."
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