Couple With Down Syndrome Gets Surprising Offer From Same Movie Theater They Say Mistreated Them
By Diana Rocco
MARLTON, N.J., (CBS)- Stefan and his girlfriend AnnaRose have been dating for nearly a year.
"Well, she's pretty and she's nice and we love each other," said Stefan.
"That's true," said Anna Rose.
Stefan and Anna both have Down syndrome. They love going to the movies, but after a bad experience two months ago at the AMC in Marlton, the teens left embarrassed and upset and didn't want to go back (see previous story).
The theater has assigned seating. They accidentally sat in the right seats, but the wrong row. A manager separated them and moved them to the back of the theater.
But after an outpouring of support from the community, AMC sprung into action to make it right, offering Anna and Stefan a private free screening and an apology from the manager.
"A face to face apology," said Anna.
Corporate flew out to meet Anna and Stefan for lunch. They got a tour of the theater. Also, AMC said they would review and revise their policies.
"They heard what we said," said Stefan's mother, Toni Slowinski. "They heard what not only what we said, but the community, and AMC didn't just turn a blind eye to it. They were like, oh, wow, there's a problem, we need to fix that."
"Anna and Stefan were shown by AMC that you can step up and advocate for yourself," said Anna's mother, Lin Rubright.
Stefan will soon be starting work at another AMC theater and Anna is now considering a job.
After their meeting, AMC announced they'll be running a public service announcement during the month of March to bring awareness to Down syndrome in all of their theaters nationwide.
Anna and Stefan say they're looking forward to their next movie in Marlton.
