One mall Santa is having a pretty blue Christmas after a series of inappropriate photos cost him his job — and landed him on the naughty list.
According to CTV News , Gary Haupt of British Columbia, Canada, got the boot after uploading a few cheeky photos to social media, ones which the management at the Cherry Lane Shopping Centre deemed to be very un-Santa like.
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In one of the photos, 69-year-old Haupt is supposedly taking a swig from a flask while dressed in his full Santa costume.
He said that particular pose was specifically requested of him.
“[The woman] wanted to do a picture with Santa and Santa appearing to drink from the flask,” Haupt explained. “It’s in my nature; I am loud, boisterous, fun-loving. What you see with Santa is what you get with me.”
A significantly more inappropriate photo catches Santa “reaching” for a woman’s breasts.
Haupt said this photo was taken last week with his partner’s aesthetician, Michelle Prystay, who he’s known very well for several years. When he saw her, he threw on his Santa suit to take some cheeky snaps.
“They were fun adult humor,” Prystay told CTV News of the photos. “The world has got to lighten up a bit.”
The photos were uploaded to a local community Facebook page with more than 19,000 members.
Haupt believes someone in the group saw the pictures, got offended, and reported him to mall management.
“They said that there was a complaint and Facebook was mentioned so I’m going to presume that somebody was on and saw it,” he told Global News .
Haupt had been gearing up to reprise his role as Santa Claus at Cherry Lane Shopping Center for the second year in a row.
However, he was called into an unscheduled meeting on Wednesday morning where his $5,000 contract was subsequently terminated.
“I believe [the mall administrators] should’ve said, ‘This has got nothing do with us’,” Haupt said of the photo complaints. “My contract doesn’t begin until Saturday morning.”
Apparently, this isn’t Haupt’s first offense as a mall Santa.
Last Christmas, he was reprimanded for for agreeing to take some particularly naughty photos with a group of women who requested Santa appear to “spank” them in the snaps, and vice versa.
“There was concern expressed by somebody and so that was addressed in the spring of this year,” Haupt told Global News . “We were told ‘don’t do that anymore’ and we agreed, that was all fine.”
Haupt has defended the photos by insisting, “It’s my sense of humor. People loved it. The mall did not.”
“If what I do brings a smile to somebody, if it makes them happy, if it gives them a sense of peace — I’m good for that,” he told CTV News .
Prystay has also come to her friend’s defense and says the mall should reconsider his firing.
“He’s brought so much joy and business to the mall through his pictures, so he’s a great asset to the mall,” she said. “Why would you fire that?”
h/t: CTV News , Global News
