I literally thought it was a joke.

After all, most of what you see on TikTok is one, right? As I scrolled through my feed, the video of the Disney worker slicing into the screen and intercepting the ring box from the dude proposing to his girlfriend caused me to pause. I watched it over and over.

I thought this who Disneyland Paris deal was staged. Unfortunately I was mistaken.

There is a text message thread with my wife, sister, and I that is set up solely so we can send TikTok videos to each other. I copied the link of the ring snatcher video and sent it to Miranda and Sid. Right after sending it, I followed with a short text that read Haha. That has to be fake though.

Yesterday morning I learned that it wasn’t fake. While at the gym, one of the televisions tuned to a cable news station was replaying the same TikTok video I saw with a lower third that read something to the effect of Disney Worker Ruins Marriage Proposal.

Get out of town.

It actually happened. An employee at Disneyland Paris took it upon himself to swoop in the middle of a proposal and swipe the ring box in defense of “company policy.” The team member carried the ring off the platform the couple was on and attempted to re-position them in a new spot by quipping in a happy/sarcastic voice, “Over here will be even better.” It was mortifying.

After snatching the ring, the Disneyland Paris employee pointed to a spot off the platform for the guy to propose. What a mess.

This time, Disney, you have gone way too far.

But I guess I need to be fair. It turns out that Disney could at least admit how outrageous and disrespectful the employee’s actions were. The company said, “We regret how this was handled. We have apologized to the couple involved and offered to make it right.”

I sure hope Disney’s attempt to “make it right” is giving the couple a Mickey Mouse wedding inside Cinderella’s Castle plus free Disneyland passes for life.

Seriously though, what was going through the employee’s mind? Even if they were breaking a Disneyland rule (which they actually weren’t), why not just let the proposal play out and perhaps issue a rebuke after the woman was able to at least slip the ringer on her finger? What is wrong with some basic human decency.

I can’t help but remember my proposal to Sidney. I did it in a high-trafficked, public spot as well. But everyone around us was respectful and supportive. There was no rogue employee who had to steal the show and ruin a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I feel bad that the guy and his new fiancée didn’t get the same courtesy that was given to me.

Let us never let the perceived power we think we have while doing our day jobs go to our heads. When we allow that to happen, shameful scenes like the one we saw in Disneyland Paris will occur. Don’t Blink.