Mall Santa Claus Fired After Posing For ‘Inappropriate’ Gag Photos

A Canadian mall Santa decked the halls so hard this year that he was fired from his job.

Gary Haupt, 69, was fired from his role as Santa Claus at the Cherry Lane Shopping Centre in Penticton, British Columbia this past week due to some gag photos featuring the jolly one clutching a woman’s breasts and taking a swig from a flask.

“They call the pictures dirty or inappropriate,” Haupt told CTV News. “They’re none of those things. It’s just hard for me to swallow that part.”

Michelle Prystay is the woman who appears to have Haupt clutching her breasts in one of the photos, participated in the photo shoot when she was over at Haupt’s house painting his partner’s nails. She says she never would have allowed the photos to be taken if she thought they were out of line. Now, her Facebook profile photo is of herself and Haupt along with the line “VIP Mobile Spa wishes you the breast Christmas ever.”

“They were fun adult humor,” Prystay, who runs a mobile manicure business, told CTV News. “The world has got to lighten up a bit.”

In another photo, which was a specific request, Haupt is dressed in his Santa suit taking a swig from a metal flask.

“She wanted to do a picture with Santa and Santa appearing to drink from the flask,” he told CTV. “It’s in my nature: I am loud, boisterous, fun-loving. What you see with Santa is what you get with me.”