Universal Studios Hollywood to investigate Horror Nights incident

Universal Studios Hollywood said Thursday that it will look into complaints made by two teenage girls who said they were insulted in front of a crowd at the park’s popular Halloween Horror Nights.

The girls, who have hired discrimination attorney Gloria Allred, said they were called “sluts” and “whores” by an actress with a microphone in one of the park’s scare zones, “Purge: Anarchy.”

A video of the incident shows an actress on a platform bantering with a crowd and referring to the girls as “a bunch of whores.”

In a statement, park officials said they will investigate the incident.

“This conduct does not reflect our values or our guest communication guidelines,” the park said. “We are reaching out to those involved and will deal with the situation appropriately.”

Kayla Beals and Roxy Fisher, both 13, said they were stunned by the words aimed at them.

“I felt shocked that an employee of Universal would think it was OK to say what she said to kids,” Beals said at a news conference with Allred.

Universal Studios Hollywood posts a warning on its website that says Halloween Horror Nights is recommended for “mature audiences” and guests “will be exposed to extremely adult material.”

Allred said she is not suing Universal Studios but is asking for a meeting with the park operators to discuss changes during the Halloween event, which ends Nov. 2.

Two years ago a stage show at Halloween Horror Nights was canceled amid criticism that it was insensitive to gays. A scene in “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure” depicted Superman getting sprinkled with “fairy dust” and turning into an over-the-top effeminate character.

To read more about travel, tourism and the airline industry, follow me on Twitter at @hugomartin.