Mayor’s office denies actor’s claim that Faulconer left Comic-Con immigrant exhibit

A spokeswoman for Mayor Kevin Faulconer on Saturday denied the claim made at San Diego Comic-Con by actor Orlando Bloom that he left an interactive activity hosted by Amazon Prime after finding out it featured immigrant characters.

Bloom reportedly made the comment about the mayor during Friday’s panel for the new series “Carnival Row.” At the pop-up experience near the San Diego Convention Center, fans are given either a “creature” or “human” card.

In the experience, a creature is described as “a mythological scrappy immigrant trying to make it in an oppressive new land.” Bloom claimed that after the mayor was assigned a creature card, he said “Oh no, I can’t have anything to do with immigration” and left, according to Variety and several fans live-tweeting Bloom’s comments during the panel.

In response to the claim, Ashley Bailey, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said he was never inside the activation.

She offered this statement to the Union-Tribune:

“The mayor enjoyed visiting several studio installations set up throughout San Diego this week, and unfortunately there was a slight wait there and he had to move along. We’re excited Amazon is showcasing its new shows in San Diego this week.

“Mayor Faulconer and his administration actively work with nonprofits and local agencies to provide shelter to migrant families, and has a long record of advocating for comprehensive immigration reform. To be clear, the Mayor never even went inside the activation for this show as there was a wait. He continued to tour and saw activations for other Amazon studio shows and then left. The mayor’s strong record on immigration speaks for itself.”

A video tweeted by Faulconer shows him nearing the Amazon Prime activation during his visit to Comic-Con, but not participating.

“Carnival Row,” which premieres Aug. 30, stars Bloom and Cara Delevingne
and portrays a “a Victorian fantasy world filled with mythological immigrant creatures,” according to a description from Amazon.

In a separate interview with Variety, Bloom said the show is “current and topical” and explores the “migrant refugee crisis” with “empathy and an objective quality.”

Joel Day, a city official who leads a regional task force on immigrant and refugee integration, posted a tweet on Saturday directed at Bloom saying “we are one of the most welcoming cities in America.”