The mother of a two-month old baby who was visited by the Ghostbusters cast has defended the actresses after photos of their visit reportedly prompted a barrage of criticism and abuse.
Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones surprised children at the Tufts Medical Centre in Boston on Friday in their Ghostbusters costume during a filming break.
But when photos of their visit were uploaded to the hospital’s Facebook page, a number of users apparently dismissed their visit as a publicity stunt. Others voiced anger about the Ghostbusters remake and criticised the director Paul Feig’s all-female line up. Feig has already faced a backlash against his all-female reboot, saying in March he had been "inundated with hate" from misogynistic trolls.
The hospital was also reportedly forced to delete a number of “racist, sexist and homophobic” comments from its page. In their own post, Tufts said: “Please remember our Facebook policy is that any comments with profanity will be deleted.”
Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center patients got a huge surprise today when Ghostbusters stars...
Posted by Tufts Medical Center on Saturday, 1 August 2015
Ellien Laramee-Byers, the mother of the baby held by Wiig, said her family was having a "really tough week" when the actresses arrived on the ward.
In a post on one of the pictures from their meeting, she said: "Last Friday, he [her baby) was rushed into tufts for emergency surgery, then went home on Saturday. Monday, I myself had my gallbladder removed. Then on Tuesday the little guy had to go back for emergency surgery number two and was told that he had to stay hooked up to antibiotics until Saturday.
"The visit from these ladies was an uplifting treat. It also wasn't just a promo photo op. They asked about him and chatted with us. No matter how you feel about the movie remake, you should do well to remember that this visit meant a lot to the people receiving it."
The original Ghostbusters line-up
Other users condemned the negative messages and praised the actresses for taking time out of their schedule to visit the children, with one writing: “I'm so sorry that posting photos of visits from actors to sick patients is being met with serious negativity and trolling from losers on the Internet. I hope the patients enjoyed [it] and I hope you keep doing things to bring them joy."
Another added: “These women are the best, I'm sorry people ruin everything. We should be praising them. What is wrong with people?”
The Independent has contacted the Tufts Medical Center for comment.
