First of all, yep, you read that headline right. A nursing home has been forced to publicly apologise after it was revealed through a clip of the ‘incident’ that the facility had organised a rather surprising activity for its residents: a stripper dance.
In the somewhat hilarious footage, seniors—most of whom are in wheelchairs—can be seen clapping for the adult entertainer as she gives one ‘lucky’ guy a heck of a show, spreading her legs open while laying on her back and even letting him get a feel of her… assets. It should be highlighted that the man caught receiving a lap dance in the clip is also parked in his wheelchair.
While it’s unclear exactly who recorded and then proceeded to share the video on social media, once it got out, the Taoyuan Veterans Home in Taiwan had some serious explaining to do. In its attempt to justify the reason behind such an odd move, the nursing home stated that it had decided to hire a stripper for the residents to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, the traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture fell on Saturday 11 September this year. In Taiwan, people tend to gather for barbecues and eat mooncakes as well as pomelo fruits—not enjoy a nice little strip dance.
After the video went viral online, the state-run facility for senior veterans came under fire, understandably. In its apologetic statement, it said: “The intention of the event was to entertain residents and make them happy. We are very sorry for the offence that was caused.”
According to LADbible, a spokesperson for the nursery home also added that certain moves from the dancer were “too enthusiastic and fiery” and that they would need to be “more cautious” when planning future events.
I’m not here to ruin those pensioners’ fun but being “more cautious” is an understatement. On social media, some users seemed to share the same opinion, with one commenting, “This is stupid and ridiculous. How about treating them well and with dignity, respect and honour.”
“Really! Why would they think that something like this would be appropriate for everyone in this audience?” added another.
But, as with most cases on the internet, views were divided. “Don’t know, grandpa seems to be enjoying himself. It also seems that everyone else was clapping their hands. I say, let them enjoy themselves,” one argued.
“God forbid these men get one last interaction with a scantily-clad woman before their quickly-approaching demise,” a second user echoed in defence.
On 25 August, Marvin Magallanes, 31, was sentenced to two life terms in prison for the murders of Sabah Alsaad, 49, Onosai Tavita, 52, and Danny Pham, 27.
According to The Independent, the California native killed two homeless men—Alsaad and Tavita—in 2016 and 2017 respectively, and then proceeded to strangle his cellmate Pham in their joint prison cell. Both of the homeless men had been sleeping rough when Magallanes killed them. Meanwhile, Pham had only been sharing a cell with Magallanes for a few weeks before he was murdered.
Magallanes allegedly believed that media personality and businesswoman Kylie Jenner was communicating with him and ordering him to commit the aforementioned crimes. He went as far as to claim that the reality TV star had “told him to do it” or otherwise someone was going to “steal his life.”
During the recent trial, one prison guard testified that the inmate did indeed suffer with “split personality” disorder. Family members further emphasised this, stating that Magallanes had displayed erratic behaviour following a painful breakup in his youth.
Ultimately, however, Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger declined Magallanes attorney’s “not guilty by reason of insanity” plea and sentenced the offender to two terms of life in prison without parole for the killings of the homeless men and a further 15 years to life for murdering Pham.
This was not Magallanes first brush with Jenner either. In June 2016, Magallanes attempted to crash his car through the socialite’s security gates at her home in Calabasas, California. At the time, he accepted a plea deal and was only required to serve ten days in LA County Jail followed by a year of probation, as reported by the Daily Mail.
It appears that the convict has been convinced that he has been in a romantic relationship with Jenner since before 2016—fuelling an obsessive and paranoid fascination with the celebrity.
During the 2022 criminal trial, Pham’s sister spoke to the court about the impact of Magallanes’ actions. She said, “Every day is a struggle and constant reminder of my brother’s absence. As I sat in court and listened to the evidence shown against Marvin Magallanes, I cannot believe how he did not show any sign of remorse.”