Comedian Protests Migration Bill Dressed as Mickey Mouse

The Walt Disney Company’s main mascot, Mickey Mouse, popped up at a Migration Bill protest via a well-known comedian from the United Kingdom. Though the UK Mickey Mouse costume was missing its iconic round head and ears, the message was clear. If Mickey Mouse’s imagery is being used, children are concerned.

Comedian Dom Joly is a British television comedian and journalist. He gained popularity with his hidden-camera prank show called Trigger Happy TV, which aired in the early 2000s. Joly is known for his distinctive appearance, often wearing a large camouflage jacket and using a giant mobile phone as a prop. He has also appeared on various other TV shows and has written books about his comedy career and travel experiences.

Credit: JOHN K THORNE/ Flickr

Now he’s using his platform to bring awareness to his cause, hoping to stop child detention. According to the United Kingdom‘s Parliament Illegal Migration Bill, the government proposes that “those who arrive in the U.K. illegally will not be able to stay [there] and will instead be detained and then promptly removed, either to their home country or a safe third country.”

Dom Joly is an ambassador for the UK branch of “Save the Children,” a charity organization that aims to improve the lives of children worldwide. The charity focuses on things like health and nutrition, education, child protection, and emergency response. Save the Children UK works to provide essential support and resources to children in need, particularly in situations of crisis and poverty.

Early start today. ⁦@savechildrenuk⁩ #StopChildDetention pic.twitter.com/FG6uApBmbn

— Dom Joly (@domjoly) July 17, 2023

They run programs and campaigns to promote children’s rights, access to quality education, healthcare, and protection from harm. The organization also advocates for policy changes to address issues affecting children, both in the UK and globally.

Dom Joly dressed as the Walt Disney Company’s recognizable Mickey Mouse – the costume meant to raise awareness about the innocence of child refugees and how the UK’s Illegal Migration Bill negatively affects them. Variety notes that Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick “had murals of Mickey Mouse and other cartoons painted over at an asylum center in Kent.” This UK Mickey Mouse costume and his paint roller prop are in direct reference to this incident.

Credit: Dom Joly/ Instagram

Variety ran his explanatory quote,

A lot of child refugees, one of the first things they see when they come to this country is something like [the murals], which gives them a vague feeling that they’re welcomed, and taking those down, it’s a spiteful, nasty thing to do…So, we’ve taken the mouse, and we’ve stood outside the Home Office, and now we’re outside Parliament, just trying to make the point that this is just not the way forward.