WDW to Shut Down Character Dubsmashes

[s8film40]

The dubsmash guy (whether you like him or not) made a TON of people smile and laugh in a creative way using song snippets relating to characters. He broke no laws.

"Woo" videotaped himself in places he knew were off limits trespassing into CM-only areas and posted it publicly. Then was upset and surprised when they banned him off the property for a year.

To me both of these things kind of make me equally cringe when I watch them. Adam the Woo was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing and presenting it as some sort of "urban exploration". The dubsmash guy was putting performers in awkward situations by asking them to perform in his videos. They are performers and they are supposed to stay in character but at the same time they are supposed to be friendly with the guests, it's a difficult position and I'm sure some of them really didn't want to participate in his videos.

 

[s8film40]

Wow. What a Smooth Criminal.

How long until he gets trespassed again?

I talked to someone in security once and they told me that they can really only enforce a trespass warning for a couple of years. I would be curious what exactly his lawyer did though.

 

[Chef Mickey]

To me both of these things kind of make me equally cringe when I watch them. Adam the Woo was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing and presenting it as some sort of "urban exploration". The dubsmash guy was putting performers in awkward situations by asking them to perform in his videos. They are performers and they are supposed to stay in character but at the same time they are supposed to be friendly with the guests, it's a difficult position and I'm sure some of them really didn't want to participate in his videos.

That's why it needed to be banned...it's dumb.

 

[Dead2009]

The dubsmash guy (whether you like him or not) made a TON of people smile and laugh in a creative way using song snippets relating to characters. He broke no laws.

"Woo" videotaped himself in places he knew were off limits trespassing into CM-only areas and posted it publicly. Then was upset and surprised when they banned him off the property for a year.

And the dubsmash guy was let go for doing things he wasn't supposed to be doing and seemed upset they would let him go for that. You can't justify ones actions for doing something while crucifying what someone else does by theirs.

Also you say ppl enjoyed the dubsmash guys stuff....people enjoy what AdamTheWoo does as well. It seems you're only focusing on those backstage videos as all he does when he's done legal Disney stuff as well.

 

[Matt_Black]

To me both of these things kind of make me equally cringe when I watch them. Adam the Woo was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing and presenting it as some sort of "urban exploration". The dubsmash guy was putting performers in awkward situations by asking them to perform in his videos. They are performers and they are supposed to stay in character but at the same time they are supposed to be friendly with the guests, it's a difficult position and I'm sure some of them really didn't want to participate in his videos.

They could have easily said no in character, and no one would have thought anything of it because, as has been mentioned abundantly in the thread, he is not a guest but a Cast Member.

 

[s8film40]

They could have easily said no in character, and no one would have thought anything of it because, as has been mentioned abundantly in the thread, he is not a guest but a Cast Member.

Not exactly. It's easy to say they could have said no, but the reality is they are working and trying to make guests happy. It's pretty much the same thing as if your boss in whatever job you work comes up to you and say's "hey can you do a favor for me", yes you can say no but we all know the reality is you really should say yes. I'm sure some of them enjoyed doing it, but some of them probably didn't want to but said yes anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if banning this came about from a performer complaining about it.

 

[Matt_Black]

Not exactly. It's easy to say they could have said no, but the reality is they are working and trying to make guests happy. It's pretty much the same thing as if your boss in whatever job you work comes up to you and say's "hey can you do a favor for me", yes you can say no but we all know the reality is you really should say yes. I'm sure some of them enjoyed doing it, but some of them probably didn't want to but said yes anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if banning this came about from a performer complaining about it.

Yeah, but again, he is neither a guest nor in a position of management. Until proven otherwise, I think we should all make the charitable assumption that he asked them, they thought it was a fun thing to do, so they said yes.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Yeah, but again, he is neither a guest nor in a position of management. Until proven otherwise, I think we should all make the charitable assumption that he asked them, they thought it was a fun thing to do, so they said yes.

Does he identify himself as a fellow employee in every video? Are employees expected to recognize every other employee?

 

[s8film40]

Yeah, but again, he is neither a guest nor in a position of management. Until proven otherwise, I think we should all make the charitable assumption that he asked them, they thought it was a fun thing to do, so they said yes.

That's just not what I see when I personally watch the videos. I suppose until Adam the Woo was trespassed we could have given him the same benefit of the doubt. I'm not saying the dubsmash videos cross the same like as backstage videos, but these are just the thoughts I have when I watch them. I don't just think oh that's fun and creative I also think how would I feel if I were in those performers positions. That's what makes it a little uncomfortable for me to watch.

 

[s8film40]

Does he identify himself as a fellow employee in every video? Are employees expected to recognize every other employee?

I really don't think his being an employee is a factor. He seems to me on the surface to be visiting the parks "as a guest". Him being an employee is merely how he got admission.

 

[G00fyDad]

To me both of these things kind of make me equally cringe when I watch them. Adam the Woo was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing and presenting it as some sort of "urban exploration". The dubsmash guy was putting performers in awkward situations by asking them to perform in his videos. They are performers and they are supposed to stay in character but at the same time they are supposed to be friendly with the guests, it's a difficult position and I'm sure some of them really didn't want to participate in his videos.

That's why it needed to be banned...it's dumb.

I completely agree. I was in theater as a kid all the way through high school and I never had a problem getting up in front of people and performing, but even I think what this guy was doing was ridiculous. It's not cute, it's not funny, and just because the characters are smiling it does not mean that they are willing participants. They have to stay in character or they're fired. He's an inconsiderate (insert adjective here) for putting these CM's through that. I'm sure most of them while he was doing this were thinking "God. I hate this crap! Don't break character, don't break character..."

 

[Matt_Black]

I completely agree. I was in theater as a kid all the way through high school and I never had a problem getting up in front of people and performing, but even I think what this guy was doing was ridiculous. It's not cute, it's not funny, and just because the characters are smiling it does not mean that they are willing participants. They have to stay in character or they're fired. He's an inconsiderate (insert adjective here) for putting these CM's through that. I'm sure most of them while he was doing this were thinking "God. I hate this crap! Don't break character, don't break character..."

That's a little far, I think. I got my picture with Belle and we're reading comics; was that inconsiderate of me?

 

[G00fyDad]

That's a little far, I think. I got my picture with Belle and we're reading comics; was that inconsiderate of me?

Maybe. If you ask that CM to perform for a camera. It's this simple, where is the line drawn? YOU may not have put that CM in too awkward of a position, but this idiot making these "films" may eventually do that very thing. If he hasn't already. If you're antics puts a character in a position that may get them terminated then yes, it would be inconsiderate.

Also, this opens the door for ANYONE to come in and do these stupid videos. Then you have an out of control situation on your hands. I applaud Disney for stopping this before it got to that point.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Yeah, but again, he is neither a guest nor in a position of management. Until proven otherwise, I think we should all make the charitable assumption that he asked them, they thought it was a fun thing to do, so they said yes.

I tend to make the same charitable assumption.

But the reality is none of us have the facts any more than the old people who never heard of dubsmash and talk about it with the same disdain as people did with those damned kids and their rock-n-roll music. Or make proclamations of "it's not funny" as if that were inarguable and not a mere statement of opinion.

Oh wait. We do. The very first post quotes him as saying, "I always left it up to the characters whether they wanted to do it or not."

Bottom line - it's over. He resigned, and is not here to defend himself. So for those of you who are in love with following rules, here's one:

Don't besmirch someone's character behind their back without the opportunity to respond. It's cowardly, which he certainly wasn't - regardless of whether or not one found his efforts entertaining, or whether or not he broke rules.

 

[tonganprince]

Wow. What a Smooth Criminal.

How long until he gets trespassed again?

Yea, not long. He is full of crap with his excuse that he didn't think people (outside of friends) would see it.

 

[Shane7694]

I think they're somewhat lame.. I side with Disney as well..

 

[Baltar]

I talked to someone in security once and they told me that they can really only enforce a trespass warning for a couple of years. I would be curious what exactly his lawyer did though.

Not true. They can be enforced forever especially in Florida. He wrote to them asking to get it removed. They turned it down the first year but allowed him in after I think 3 years? But they could have continually denied him.

 

[Chef Mickey]

That's a little far, I think. I got my picture with Belle and we're reading comics; was that inconsiderate of me?

Yes, if you're asking them to do something with you that's not really an ordinary thing and they have no choice but to go along with it.

 

[Matt_Black]

You're kidding right?

Something can't just be juvenile and annoying? If you dislike it, it's because you're subconsciously homophobic?

Regarding the former, yeah I suppose. The latter? Annoyance is HIGHLY subjective. For instance, I find a good deal of rap music annoying. That doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. (To be fair though, no rappers today are as good as Run D.M.C.! YEAH!) People like different things.

 

[xdan0920]

I tend to make the same charitable assumption.

But the reality is none of us have the facts any more than the old people who never heard of dubsmash and talk about it with the same disdain as people did with those damned kids and their rock-n-roll music. Or make proclamations of "it's not funny" as if that were inarguable and not a mere statement of opinion.

Oh wait. We do. The very first post quotes him as saying, "I always left it up to the characters whether they wanted to do it or not."

And I don't think we can completely omit the word that starts with h and ends with phobia from some of these assessments.

Bottom line - it's over. He resigned, and is not here to defend himself. So for those of you who are in love with following rules, here's one:

Don't besmirch someone's character behind their back without the opportunity to respond. It's cowardly, which he certainly wasn't - regardless of whether or not one found his efforts entertaining, or whether or not he broke rules.

He made himself a public figure. If he didn't want criticism he should have kept his annoying videos to himself.

Regarding the former, yeah I suppose. The latter? Annoyance is HIGHLY subjective. For instance, I find a good deal of rap music annoying. That doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. (To be fair though, no rappers today are as good as Run D.M.C.! YEAH!) People like different things.

Exactly, people like different things. You're not racist because you don't like rap. And I'm not homophobic because I don't like this kids annoying videos.