Mall Santa Fired: St. Nicholas Too much of a Scrooge for Maine Mall, Offends Shoppers with Grumpy and Rude Behavior

A Santa Claus look-alike hired at a Maine mall for the holiday season proved to be too much of a Scrooge for spirited shoppers and excited young visitors anxious to sit on jolly old St. Nick's lap. Reports confirm that the Maine Santa Claus impersonator was promptly fired after parents and children complained about his rather grumpy and rude behavior when tending to his naughty and nice checklist. After the firing, the South Portland mall issued an official apology on its Facebook page.

The mall was made aware of their grumpy Santa predicament after Jessica Mailhiot's story of her 6-year-old daughter Chantel's rather disappointing visit went viral. According to the out-of-work mother-of-two, the hired St. Nicholas wouldn't let young Chantel sit on his lap after being informed that the family wouldn't be able to afford the $20 "picture with Santa" surcharge. Mailhiot told the local news station WGME, "He just put his hand on his lap so I couldn't go on." And when little Chantel eventually managed to ask Santa for an American Girl doll, the cranky white-bearded man in the red suite responded that she'd instead find an American football under the tree this year.

Mailhiot, who also posted her tale on Facebook, told reporters, "This was just really important to see that Santa was listening and maybe the one thing she wanted, she would get. He didn't even ask if she was good or anything like that, he just snubbed her." Many supporters began cropping up online, insisting that they would refrain from visiting the South Portland mall and would definitely not pay the hefty $20 charge for a photo with the dismal Santa.

The Maine mall then fired the rude Santa Claus, released this official statement on Facebook:

"Thank you to those who have voiced concerns regarding our Santa photography policy. 'Visiting Santa at The Maine Mall' is free - photo purchases are NOT required and we have been reacting to customer complaints by taking some pretty serious steps already, the results of which you will see within the upcoming days. We realize time with Santa Claus is a holiday tradition many of our shoppers look forward to year after year - and so do we."