Cast Members Sue Disney After Being Fired For Not Being “Culturally Authentic”

Not all that long ago, the World Showcase in EPCOT at Walt Disney World Resort was unlike any other theme park experience out there. Guests can travel the world and enjoy eleven different cultural experiences without leaving the park. The World Showcase features pavilions dedicated to Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, The American Adventure, Japan, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Related: Drinking Around the World at EPCOT, Here Are the BEST Choices!

What made EPCOT’s World Showcase different was that each pavilion had cast members working there who were from that specific country. Their name tag would tell you where in the country they were from, and they were always excited to tell you about their hometown.

Unfortunately, things drastically changed when the COVID-19 virus swept across the globe. Many countries shut their borders and didn’t allow their citizens to leave the country. And if they did leave, it would be very difficult for them to come back. Safety was paramount at that time, and international travel, was tenuous at best.

Because of this, Disney lost nearly every World Showcase cast member who was a part of the company’s cultural exchange program. International travel was shut down for years, but Walt Disney World was not. That meant that Disney had to hire everyday Americans to work in its eleven World Showcase pavilions.

Now, things are mostly back to normal. Borders are open and international travel is reaching near pre-pandemic levels. So, that means that Disney can now bring back its foreign cast members.

And that is now causing the House of Mouse to be sued in federal court.

According to Court Watch, two ex-Disney cast members are claiming that they lost their jobs not because they were bad employees, but because they were not “culturally appropriate.” They were allegedly fired and replaced with foreign cast members:

“The restaurant group Patina Orlando, which owns and operates the eateries, hired plaintiffs Dahyana Cosme and Timothy Gocklin in 2022 and then abruptly laid the Americans off earlier this year, replacing them with Italians, the lawsuit said. As a further insult, the outgoing Americans had to train their international replacements.”

“The Italians’ visas had been sponsored by Disney for the company’s cultural exchange program, according to court documents.”

The two former Disney World cast members are being represented by the law firm Morgan & Morgan, who said that Disney had the chance to do things correctly, like putting the employees in other jobs within the parks. But they didn’t offer them any kind of transfer. They just fired them.

“’Our clients’ allegations paint a picture of an intentional and illegal scheme of firing American workers and abusing the Q-1 and J-1 visa systems to replace them. Disney and Patina had plenty of options to handle this situation fairly and legally – for example, by transferring all the American workers to another department or restaurant – but instead allegedly decided to wholesale terminate over 100 workers due to their ethnicity and citizenship status,’ Morgan & Morgan attorneys John Morgan, James Henson and Matthew Gunter said in a statement. ‘Operating a cultural exchange program at an internationally-themed park does not absolve Walt Disney World or Patina from their responsibilities to follow all applicable labor laws, and we will hold them accountable for this alleged injustice.'”

In addition to suing Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts, the two are suing the Patina Restaurant Group. Patina owns and operates multiple restaurants at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort.

In Walt Disney World, the Patina Group operates Tutto Italia, Via Napoli, and Morimoto Asia. Tutto Italia and Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria are located in EPCOT’s Italy Pavilion, while Morimoto Asia is in Disney Springs.

Over in California, at Disneyland Resort, Patina operates Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar & Café, both of which closed recently as part of a huge Downtown Disney renovation. They also own and operate Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria, Napolini, Taquería, and Tortilla Jo’s.

Disney has not commented on the lawsuit, but the Patina Group said that the employees were told that they were being hired on a temporary basis. The employees say that they did not know it was a temporary job until they read it in their termination letters.

“’Patina operates two restaurants within a cultural exchange program approved by Congress and authorized by the Department of Homeland Security. This program introduces the cultures of other countries to the United States and allows those from other countries to learn about our country,’ Patina said in court documents, arguing the two former workers ‘do not allege they could speak Italian or explain Italian customs, traditions, and culture based on their first-hand experience.'”

Disney has not commented publicly on the lawsuit. However, in court documents, they said that, although the employees had Disney ID cards and wore costumes provided by Disney, they were not technically Disney employees. They were Patina employees, and Patina decided who to keep and who to fire without talking to Disney.

What is your favorite thing about EPCOT’s World Showcase? Let us know in the comments!