The Regal Cinemas Majestic Stadium movie theater in Silver Spring, Md. is in hot water after reports that the theater ordered an abnormally heavy level of police presence at a weekend screening of "Lee Daniels' The Butler."
A woman named Tiffany Flowers took to Twitter on Sunday to express her "utter disgust" at the treatment of movie-goers and to speak out against the police activity that seemed to be confined to the showing of "The Butler." She explained that the movie theater required patrons' tickets to be checked twice before they were allowed to enter the theater, where they were then met by a police officer who was directing their moves.
Flowers went on to add that armed guards faced the crowd as the movie played, before insinuating that the security choice was made because the movie drew a largely black crowd. "The almost entirely black audience of 'The Butler' was subjected to watching the film while armed guards faced the audience," Flowers wrote on Twitter. "Why?"
"Lee Daniels' The Butler," which tells the story of former White House butler Eugene Allen, performed well at the box office this weekend. The star-studded film brought in $25 million at 2,933 theaters.
While representatives at the Regal Cinemas Majestic Stadium did not deny the incident in a phone call with HuffPost Entertainment, they would not give an official comment on the police presence. Calls to Regal Entertainment Group were not immediately returned.
Check out Flowers' tweets on the situation below.
I'd like to take this time to express my utter disgust with @RegalMovies cinema in Silver Spring, MD. You all should stay away from here.
— Tiffany (@MsFlowersTweets) August 18, 2013
.@hanson_alan and I went to see #TheButler @RegalMovies last night and let me tell you what an unpleasant experience it was...
— Tiffany (@MsFlowersTweets) August 18, 2013
Tickets were double validated. First they get torn then upon entering the theater (10 FT. AWAY) we were asked for stubs again. @RegalMovies
— Tiffany (@MsFlowersTweets) August 18, 2013
Then as soon as we enter the theater we were greeted by an actual police officer who herded traffic in one direction. @RegalMovies
— Tiffany (@MsFlowersTweets) August 18, 2013
Once we get around the corner and start looking for seats we see yet another police office inside the theater facing patrons. @RegalMovies
— Tiffany (@MsFlowersTweets) August 18, 2013
This was our first (and final) trip @regalmovies but we were told that this is completely out of the ordinary. #TheButler
— Tiffany (@MsFlowersTweets) August 18, 2013
The almost entirely black audience of #TheButler was subjected to watching the film while armed guards faced the audience. Why? @RegalMovies
— Tiffany (@MsFlowersTweets) August 18, 2013
@Oprah I went out to support #TheButler last night and @RegalMovies thought it'd be cool to extend the onscreen discrimination to the crowd.
— Tiffany (@MsFlowersTweets) August 18, 2013
I spoke to Akiem (manager @RegalMovies). He informed me that all big selling movies have this type of crowd control. #TheButler
— Tiffany (@MsFlowersTweets) August 18, 2013
When I asked which other films....he said "Harry Potter"....He never spoke of a disturbance being reported in the theater. @magnoliax
— Tiffany (@MsFlowersTweets) August 18, 2013
It seems to me that @RegalMovies knows that it has some explaining to do and now they are trying to create a defense. @magnoliax
— Tiffany (@MsFlowersTweets) August 18, 2013
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