The Monaco family had traveled from New Hampshire to Orlando, Florida to visit Walt Disney World.
They brought their three children to the world renowned resort and had planned on a nice relaxing family getaway. That is until Tigger screwed it up for everyone. While posing for pictures with the Winnie the Pooh sidekick, Tigger turned on Jerry Monaco Jr., 14, as his family knelt in front of the orange Disney character.
Tigger allegedly locked his right arm with the 14 year-old's left arm and then socked him in the face with a left hook.
The teenager insists he did nothing to provoke the cat attack, and said that Tigger hit him, "Pretty hard. I could still feel it even though he was wearing the padded gloves." (Tigger already has a reputation as one crazy cat. He was the same costumed character to be accused of groping womens breasts in 2004.)
This specific Tigger has been identified as Michael J. Fedelem, 31, of Kissimmee. Any 31 year old man running around in a cat suit for a paycheck obviously has some underlying issues.
"You don't come here for this," father Jerry Monaco said. "Disney is supposed to be a safe place. It is supposed to be a place where you come and spend time with your family." Monaco said he replayed the video to see if the attack was provoked but said he could find no evidence of it.
"At first I was upset at my son," Monaco Sr. said. "I thought he did something to Tigger. But then I review it and it is pretty clear, for no reason he just clocked him in the face."
"The general manager apologized to me. Everybody will come up and apologize to me but Tigger. He won't be a man about it and get out of the costume and come out and apologize to my son. I didn't want VIP treatment. I didn't want an extra day at Disney. I didn't want any of that. I wanted him to apologize and that is the one thing that they won't do." Michael J. Fedelem has been suspended by Disney pending an investigation, and Pooh has cut him off from any future Pooh-lovin'.
Written by Spicy
Sources: Orlando Sentinel, Local6.com
