In a shocking scene, Disneyland Paris became the backdrop for a disturbing incident involving a staged wedding between a man and a 9-year-old girl. The event, now suspected to be a costly social media stunt, resulted in the arrest of the supposed groom and the child’s mother.
The amusement park was reserved early Saturday for the event, which was set to occur in front of the iconic Sleeping Beauty castle. The park staff was unaware that the bride-to-be was a minor. Approximately 300 guests and a string quartet arrived at the park around 5 a.m., before the park was open to the public. The staff was horrified to discover the age of the bride, who was dressed in a wedding gown and had 5-inch heels taped to her feet. The police were immediately alerted, leading to the arrest of four individuals involved in the incident.
Among those arrested were the groom, a 22-year-old British national, and the 41-year-old mother of the girl, who had arrived in Paris from Ukraine two days before the event. Two Latvian nationals were also arrested, including a 24-year-old woman hired to play the role of the bride’s sister and a 55-year-old man recruited to act as her father.
The man hired to play the father of the bride had contacted Disneyland Paris security, revealing that he had been hired for $13,840 and only discovered at the last minute that the bride was a minor. French prosecutors are now investigating whether the event was a disturbing social media stunt that cost at least $150,000.
Days before the event, an online advertisement had been posted seeking extras for a high-end wedding rehearsal. The ad called for 200 adults and 100 children between the ages of 5 and 15. The extras, unaware of the true nature of the event, gathered around 4 a.m. in Paris, where a bus was waiting to transport them to Disneyland. However, by 6 a.m., park staff had asked them to leave.
The extras were shocked by the revelation. One of them told Le Parisien, “We all thought we were going to attend a wedding … Everyone was stunned, no one expected it.” They praised Disneyland for their swift action, saying, “Disneyland did things very well. They canceled everything as soon as they realized the bride was a child. We were shocked to see that.”
Approximately $150,000 was spent on booking the amusement park and hiring extras. The prosecutor’s office stated that the minor, a Ukrainian national, had not been subjected to any violence or coercive acts, suggesting that the event was a setup.
Two individuals, the fake groom and the fake bride’s sister, remain in custody and have been charged with “fraud and breach of trust” against Disneyland Paris, which has also filed a complaint against them. Both were scheduled to appear in court in the town of Meaux on Monday as part of the opening of a judicial investigation. Disneyland Paris has stated that it is fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation.