Outraged guests slam Nigloland theme park’s ‘racist’ Africa Cruise ride

Must not show black men with bananas

One of the most popular theme parks in France has been forced to shut down a popular ride after guests accused the attraction of being racist.

The Africa Cruise ride at Nigloland in north eastern France has been at the park for several decades, having first been installed in 1987.

However, the popular attraction was embroiled in a race row after a video of the ride surfaced last week. A park guest who goes by @Astrotoujours on Twitter posted a video of his experience, with a series of comments. He said: “I went to Nigloland and saw that. I wanted to know if you found it normal??”

The footage showed a section of the cruise where two people climbed up a tree while an angry rhino was just beneath them.

One of the figures was white and wearing a colonial-style safari outfit while another, who was visibly black, was wearing a fez and holding a bunch of bananas.

The ride also featured problematic dialogue according to France 24 — the black character apparently spoke in an audibly African accent and called the white person boss.

The viral post sparked a backlash against the park, with many accusing it of being racist. One person wrote: “@Nigloland caricatured accent, banana? Do you find that normal.” Another said: “It’s shocking it looks like the racist jokes of the colonial era.”

In response, the park decided to close the ride last weekend. In a statement on Twitter, the park apologised to the public for any offence it had caused.

The park also took steps to modify the ride — by removing the banana and the speech.

Since changing the ride, however, many have come out in support of the park. One wrote on Twitter: “Serious. … where it will stop!!! Must be stupid to see racism there.”

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