"The Worst Thing Sea World Has Ever Done", Lynn The Mime Has Been Wrongly Terminated After 36 Years of Service
NY Post - A beloved longtime SeaWorld mime claims he was fired from his position following a disagreement with a security guard — and was never allowed to share his side of the story with his bosses.
Lynn Frey, known as “Lynn the Mime,” has been a staple at SeaWorld Orlando for 36 years, where he performed around the aquatic park and before animal exhibits as he became a viral sensation.
But last month, Frey was let go from his position and told he wasn’t allowed back on SeaWorld property after one security guard reported him to human resources.
“I am no longer at SeaWorld, it was not my decision it was theirs,” Frey said in a post to TikTok, saying it took him a month and a half to share the news because he wanted to make sure all his “duckies were in a row.”
“I will tell the story, now this is my side of the story, but this is exactly what happened, to me,” he said in the video, which has been viewed over 2.8 million times.
"The worst thing Sea World has ever done" - John Rich
Just when you thought Sea World couldn't be any more immoral. When you thought pulling whales straight out of the Pacific Ocean and forcing them to do synchronized swimming routines in front of spoiled children, then when they get to old to perform they turn them into whale sushi to sell at the concession stand (or whatever people in that Blackfish documentary were mad about I've never actually seen it)... Now they go and fire Lynn The Mime.
Say what you want about mime's.. "They're a plague on our society".. "They should all be put on a list".. "They're weird as fuck and I wouldn't let one near my child in a million years."
The more I think about it, it's probably a bit risky to blindly come out in defense of a man who's dedicated his life to one of the world's creepiest professions, and performed said profession for one of the world's most universally hated organizations in Sea World. I'm wiling to bet Lynn The Mime has uttered the phrase, "I love to make kids smile" several times in his life. I'm not making any accusations. I'm just saying... that's not the lowest-risk person to go to bat for.
But I'm rolling with the idea that Lynn The Mime is good people. Just a wholesome dude who's spent over 36 years perfecting the art of pretending to be trapped in a box. He wakes up every morning in a house he purchased exclusively with money he made from miming, puts on his whiteface, bikes to Sea World, and spends his day silently harassing adults at the park. Adults who are forced to smile and play along with his bits no matter how bad they want to rear back and knock him clean out. But there are kids around and they seem to be enjoying his stupid mime antics for some reason so they have to just grit their teeth and try to make it though the routine without getting themselves arrested. And for Lynn, at the end of the day it's all worth it because there's sincerely nothing he loves more than putting a smile on kid's faces for 100% appropriate and non-sexual reasons.
You can tell how seriously he takes his miming based on the request he made to Sea World to let him put on one more show and "pack the house" with friends and family as a last hurrah. I didn't know there was a mime in the history of the world with the ability to "pack the house". I'm not sure if Lynn The Mime can either. I have to imagine the packed house Lynn The Mime performs for is primarily there to see the 8,000 pound killer whale Sea World has imprisoned in the tank behind him. But in Lynn's mind, he's the star of the show. That's the type of attitude I want out of my mime. I want my mime to think he's the star of the show. Even when 90% of the people he's miming for are merely tolerating him while the trainers wait for whatever drugs they give the performance whales to kick in so they can get through the show without Shamu ripping them apart limb-by-limb.
Thankfully, Lynn The Mime isn't hanging up the invisible rope quite yet. Now that Sea World has kicked him to the curb, Lynn is starting his own company, creatively named, The Mime Company.
Lynn The Mime's plan is the purchase an RV and travel around the country doing gigs at state fairs, children's birthday's, corporate retreats, and whoever the hell else might require the services of a mime someday. Maybe Barstool Sports will hire him for an afternoon performance. It's unfortunate we're no longer under a corporate umbrella because Lynn The Mime is the exact type of person they would have hired to send to our office because for some reason they think we'd enjoy the presence of a mime at 4pm on a Friday afternoon.
If you have a heart, feel free to donate to his GoFundMe. He's only $9,000 short of his $10,000 goal. I certainly won't be donating. But I'm in the clear because the amount of exposure I'm giving The Mime Company by writing this blog is worth it's weight in gold (which I'd guess is about $20 - $25).
Enjoy this 7:47 video of Lynn The Mime performing his art.