Lamine Yamal celebrated his 18th birthday on Saturday with a huge party, filled with celebrities like popular singers Lola Índigo, Bizarrap, Quevedo, and Bad Gyal, influencers like Ibai Llanos, The Grefg, IlloJuan, and even the F1 racer Charles Leclerc, and of course most of his teammates at FC Barcelona. The party had a "1920s gangsters" theme, with the now adult player posing with an elegant white suit. It also had, apparently, dwarves hired as entertainers.
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The Association of People with Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias with Dwarfism (ADEE in Spanish) denounced publicly the hiring of people with dwarfism as entertainers, and said that they would take legal actions against the player "to safeguard the dignity of persons with disabilities, considering that these acts violate not only current legislation, but also the fundamental ethical values of a society that seeks to be egalitarian and respectful".
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The association refers to the General Law on the Rights of People with Disabilities in Spain, which since three years ago forbids shows that mock or denigrate people with disabilities. In fact, this Tuesday, the Spanish government intends to approve a modification of the law to make it more agile, which among other things would add sanctions between 600,000 euros and 1 million euros to the public exposure of people with disabilities.
Even the Ministry of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, has asked the Prosecutor's Office, the Ombudsman, and the Office for Combating Hate Crimes to investigate whether Lamine Yamal's party violated the law (via El Confidencial).
One of the entertainers at Yamal's party explains his version: "We are not carnival monkeys"
In the fallout of the controversy, and with the silence of the club, one of the entertainers at Yamal's party explained his version, saying that the ADEE is "publicly humiliating them", that they offered their services in a completely legal and regular way, "offering an animation service like any other, and we do it with dignity".
The man explained on Catalan radio RAC1 (via Sport) that they were treated with dignity during the show, that lasted an hour. "We danced, handed out shots, did magic tricks, like any other show", and after a one hour performance, later joined and enjoyed the party.
Instead, he blamed the association, which is "want to make us look like victims when all we're asking is to be allowed to work. What they're doing is ridiculing and belittling our work.".
"We're not carnival monkeys. We have limits, and we know what they are. I'm an entertainer, and I'm one beyond my physical condition. Why can't I pursue this profession just because of my physical condition?"