[Photo Update] Here's Why Twitter Is Freaking Out Over the Revealed Identity of the Parents Whose Toddler Fell Into the Gorilla Pit
One of the week's craziest stories just got even crazier.
The identity of the parents who let their toddler fall into the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla enclosure, leading to the unfortunate and much-contested death of Harambe the gorilla, has been revealed. While Twitter spent much of the weekend bashing the assumed white parents for bad parenting, it turns out the child, and his parents, are Black.
Michelle Gregg, 32, and Deonne Dickerson, 36, came forward to reveal their identities, and while much ado has been made about Dickerson's criminal past, reports seem to confirm that he has turned his life around and is a happy father of four.
Before their identities were exposed, many took to Twitter to say that the parents of the child should be held responsible for the gorilla’s death, who, in the video, seems to be protecting the young boy as opposed to trying to harm him. Black Twitter was particularly harsh toward the parents. Here are some Tweets ridiculing the parents before their identities were revealed:
After Dickerson and Gregg came forward, many had to face the fact that they had jumped to a biased conclusion.
Zoo officials have come forward to express their deep sadness over the loss of the gorilla, who Jerry Stones, a zoo employee called, "A pretty, beautiful male [who] was very intelligent. His mind was going constantly."
Soon after the incident, Gregg released a statement regarding the incident. "We are so thankful to the Lord that our child is safe. He is home and doing just fine. We extend our heartfelt thanks for the quick action by the Cincinnati Zoo staff," it read. "We know that this was a very difficult decision for them, and that they are grieving the loss of their gorilla. We hope that you will respect our privacy at this time."
Many have mourned the critically endangered gorilla's death since the incident occurred. Luckily the child suffered only minor scrapes and bruises. Gorilla World, at the zoo, has been closed since the incident took place on Saturday, but Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard said he expects the enclosure to reopen by next weekend.
One silver lining for those who are mourning the loss of Harambe is that the zoo does have viable sperm stored at the zoo.