Photo: TikTok
The man's wife was quick to intervene, which only made the situation that much more awkward.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Apr 21, 2023
A woman who dresses up as characters for children's birthdays revealed the most awkward encounter she had with an adult at one of the parties she had previously worked at.
In a TikTok video, Gracie told viewers that while there is usually at least one adult who doesn't understand boundaries and can sometimes make her uncomfortable while she's working certain kids' birthday parties, one particular incident took the cake.
Gracie revealed that a married grandfather tried to get her number and asked for a photo of just them two.
In Gracie's video, she explained that at nearly every party that she has worked for dressed up as a certain character, she will sometimes have an uncomfortable encounter with an adult there. "My last party as Wonder Woman, the way that it was handled was incredible."
While working as Wonder Woman for a previous kids' birthday party, Gracie said that a man had suddenly come up to her, which she claims will happen at "every Wonder Woman party, without fail." She continued, saying that the man had come up to her and asked for a photo.
"A man comes up to me and he goes, 'Can I get a picture of you?' Just me, no children. Just me. Why would he need that?" she recalled thinking. Gracie ended up agreeing to the strange request but was later intercepted by the man's wife.
"His wife says, 'Harold, Harold. Harold, do you want to include your granddaughter in the picture with Wonder Woman?'" As if things couldn't get any more awkward for Gracie, the man that had been hitting on her was not only married but also the grandfather of one of the little girls at the party.
Harold immediately agrees, as if having forgotten that's what Gracie was at the party for, which is to take photos and interact with the children. Gracie ended up getting a photo with Harold and his granddaughter, and while that should've been the end of that, Harold attempted one more time to hit on Gracie.
After the photo had been taken, he turned to Gracie and proceeded to ask if he would be able to get her number so he could text her the photo they'd just all taken together so she'd be able to have it. Before Gracie could answer though, his wife spoke up, shutting down the entire ordeal.
"His wife goes, 'She has plenty,' and drags him away," Gracie added.
People sympathized with the man's wife, while others reminisced on similar incidents happening to them while working kids' birthday parties.
"I promise, Harold is the guy who says, 'I’m just being friendly,'" one TikTok user wrote, while another added, "His wife needs an award for that one." A third user remarked, "Harold needs to leave people alone [because] if he’s doing it to one woman think of all the others he’s done it to."
Other users who've worked as characters at children's birthday parties shared their own awkward encounters with men like Harold.
"I have so many stories like this but the first Moana party I ever did the grandma snapped at me about wearing a skimpy outfit," a fourth user recalled.
A fifth user commented, "I just got Spider-Man for my grandkids' birthday party and I saw wonder woman on the website and I knew this happened to her every time."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics.