GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Is it exploitation or entertainment? An unusual act slated for a new venue in downtown Grand Rapids is drawing criticism.
Tickets are being sold for “Extreme Midget Wrestling” Wednesday night at 20 Monroe Live.
The West Michigan chapter of Little People of America says it crosses the line and doesn’t belong in Grand Rapids, arguing it’s demeaning toward a group that already faces discrimination. The group says people don’t realize it can open the door to bigotry.
“Little people such as us walking down the street have been picked up and thrown, which caused significant physical harm,” said Ron Roskamp, the treasurer for the local chapter of LPA.
He said the event is something of a spectacle with potentially violent consequences.
“I wrote the organizers to ask them to not put on this event because of the impact that it has on objectifying people of short stature and the ultimate repercussions from that after an event of this nature with public aggressiveness and teasing and ridicule that goes on against us in our daily lives,” Roskamp said.
Roskamp and his wife, both of whom have dwarfism, say they have faced bullying throughout their lives.
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