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An Australian cruise line issued an apology after footage surfaced online of staff dressed up as Ku Klux Klan members.
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Video shared on Facebook shows what appear to be a group of eight people in head-to-toe white uniforms — including pointy, face-covering head gear — marching around a pool on the P&O Cruises Australia ship.
“Is this appropriate for 2024?” a passenger captioned the clip, according to news.com.au.
The cruise line’s communication director, Lynne Scrivens, told Sydney radio station 2GB that the dressed-up workers were housekeeping crew from around the globe and had “never heard of the organization or what their outfits could symbolize” when management pulled them aside to immediately remove their hats.
“No one can seriously think that was their intention,” she told radio host Ben Fordham on Wednesday.
“They are limited with what resources they have on ships,” she added, explaining they had to make do with what they had to dress up as “snow cones.”
She added that no formal complaints had been made by any passengers at the time, but admitted it was a “very unfortunate” incident.
“[We] accept and take full responsibility for it.”
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P&O issued an official statement saying the employees were unaware that their festive costumes resembled KKK outfits.
“We regret if a recent incident on a Pacific Explorer cruise offended any guests,” a P&O Cruises Australia spokesperson told the outlet.
“Several crew members dressed up as snow cones for a Christmas family event, not understanding how their costumes could be misconstrued.”
The spokesperson said the employees were only in public view for a short time before management reacted.
“The crew members were horrified and extremely apologetic when they learned of the distress their outfits could cause.”
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Passenger Terri, who posted the clip on social media, described it as “offensive KKK costumes,” though she admitted she doesn’t believe it was an intentional act.
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The Melbourne woman, who did not want to reveal her last name, explained that a tug-of-war battle between crew members was promoted in the ship’s newsletter.
“And then the crew came out,” she noted with horror, recalling looking at her husband and asking one another, “Are we seeing this correctly?”
“It was so bizarre — you can hear it on the video it just went quiet,” Terri said, adding that the woman sitting in front of her “had a face, like, ‘What the hell,’ which was basically the vibe of the whole ship.”
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She said she spoke with a crew members who told her they were asked to remove their hats right away, “which they did without hesitation.”
Terri noted that while she believed it was “an innocent mistake,” it was shocking.
“This has left a bit of a sour taste.”
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