Megatron robot at Beijing theme park scolds, refuses to take photo with visitor who made rude gesture

The character Megatron is the evil leader of a group of robots called the Decepticons in the Transformers universe
Bad behaviour at amusement parks in China is frequently uploaded to social media

China society

Alice Yanin Shanghai

Published: 8:00pm, 23 Sep 2021

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A video of a visitor at a Chinese theme park giving a robot modelled on the Transformers character Megatron the middle finger and provoking an angry response from the robot has gone viral.

The video was taken at a section of the new Universal Beijing Resort called Transformers Metrobase where people can meet several well-known characters from the Transformers franchise. It is a popular attraction with people often queuing to take photos with the robots and interact with them.

In the video a man is seen looking up at Megatron, an evil character who leads a group of robots called the Decepticons in the films, and suddenly raises his middle finger at the robot. He then sniggers and walks in front of the robot for a photo opportunity.

In the video Megatron pauses momentarily, before launching into an angry tirade: “Your gesture is too rude. Haven’t your father and mother taught you [to behave yourself]? Foolish rascal, foul human! Go away, I don’t want to take a picture with him.”

People tour the Universal Studios theme park, part of the Universal Beijing Resort. Photo: Getty

A park employee tried to stop the man from raising his middle finger, the footage showed.

The resort said the visitor had not broken any of the park’s rules and that it would not blacklist him, news app Red Star News reported.

But the park does discourage behaviour that may be deemed offensive, an anonymous client service member of staff said.

Megatron’s response was manipulated by the park’s employees, instead of the default artificial intelligence settings, he said. Usually Megatron and other robots automatically generate responses including phrases borrowed from the Transformers series, such as “foul human”, in their interaction with visitors.

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The video has received a huge response online.

“He didn’t think it was shameful, but thought it was fun. He even laughed,” wrote one person on WeChat.

“He didn’t respect others. His face shouldn’t be blurred,” another user said.

Bad behaviour at amusement parks in China is frequently uploaded to social media.

Performers at Shanghai Disneyland wearing cartoon characters’ costumes have often been filmed having their clothes pulled or their headgear hit by visitors.

In one case in 2019, a male visitor pulled the ear of a bear character’s head so forcefully the actor had to suspend his performance.