Fox News Today:
It seems “cancel culture” has even struck the puppet world.
Las Vegas headliner Terry Fator is dropping the puppet version of President Trump from his ventriloquism show on the city’s famed Strip at the request of the hotel where he performs, according to a report.
Puppet Trump has been a staple of Fator’s act for years, but The Mirage asked the ventriloquist to make the change to avoid escalating the political divide in an already polarized country, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
“They said, ‘This political season is very, very, very rough and it’s going to get nastier. Would you mind?’ I said, ‘Fine, I’ll do it,’” Fator told the Review-Journal.
“They said, ‘This political season is very, very, very rough and it’s going to get nastier. Would you mind?’ I said, ‘Fine, I’ll do it.’”
— Terry Fator, comic ventriloquist and impressionist
Comic ventriloquist and impressionist Terry Fator performs with his President Trump puppet at The Mirage Hotel & Casino on March 12, 2018 in Las Vegas. (Getty Images)
Fator said the hotel has never asked him to make a change in his show before.
“When they ask politely, I do it,” he said. “We have a good relationship. It’s a give and take. I’m not a diva. I’m not going to go off and say, ‘Screw you’ when they ask me to do something.”
While Trump is gone from Fator’s upcoming Christmas show, “A Very Terry Christmas 2, The Sequel,” and the regular show for the foreseeable future, the performer plans to use the commander-in-chief in a series of Instagram and YouTube videos. Along with a puppet version of Bernie Sanders, puppet Trump will host a variety show à la Donny and Marie Osmond.
Other celebrity puppets in his Christmas show will include Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Justin Bieber, David Bowie and Bing Crosby.
Fator has made several other changes to his long-running show this year, including getting rid of his band and replacing his wife who got tired of guest-starring with pre-recorded comedian Fred Willard. Fator’s wife makes a video cameo, The Review-Journal reported.
