Cruise Company Forced To Apologize After Employees Dressed Up As 'Upside Down Snow Cones' Mistaken for KKK Members

A cruise company was forced to apologize after employees dressed up as "upside down snow cones" were mistaken for KKK members in videos shared online.

Videos and photos shared to social media showed crew members dressed head-to-toe in white and wearing pointed, cone-shaped hats with white masks attached to them, with only holes for their eyes.

While some passengers can be heard clapping and cheering, others can be heard gasping and whispering. In a video shared online, one passenger can be heard saying "What happened" while others can be heard booing.

After several passengers and social media users thought the costumes looked like KKK members, P&O Cruises Australia issued an apology clarifying that the staff was supposed to be dressed as "snow cones."

"Several crew members dressed up as snow cones for a Christmas family event, not understanding how their costumes could be misconstrued," a spokesperson told News.com.au. "The crew members were horrified and extremely apologetic when they learned of the distress their outfits could cause."

One of the passengers named Terri said that as soon as the crew members walked out dressed that way, the crowd on the deck went silent.

"A lady sitting in front of me, her jaw dropped, she was like 'what the hell.' Everyone was like OMG - they were calling it the 'KKK cruise,'" she told the Daily Mail.

Lynne Scrivens, P&O Cruises Australia's communications director, told Australian radio station 2GB Wednesday that the costumes had been for "a Christmas family fun day," and maintained that they had no ill intentions.

"The idea that this was a KKK cruise... is just ridiculous. It's just stupid to even think that there was any malice in this," Scrivens told the station. "No one can seriously think that was their intention."

Originally published on Latin Times