Winnipegger says creepy clowns giving the performers a bad name
Dee Dee the Clown says scaring people is no laughing matter
A local performer who has worked as a clown for 20 years says she's upset by the recent creepy clown phenomenon sweeping across the U.S. and parts of Canada.
"[Clowns] are ambassadors of joy. We're here to help, heal [and] give people laughter," saidDeannaHartmier."This is our livelihood. How would they feel if this was their profession [being] attacked?"
ForHartmier, who performs asDee Dee the Clown,and her husband, who is also a professional clown, dressing up as creepy clowns and trying to scare people is no joking matter.
Hartmierargues thatpeople who dress up as police officers aren't real cops and people who are doing these creepy acts aren't real clowns.
Local sightings light on facts
The St. James-Assiniboia School Division looked into the matter afterCBC's requestedcomment and came to the conclusion that the photo was of astudent in the field behind the high school, who was incidentally,taking pictures for a photography class.
Winnipeg Police say they are fully aware of the so-calledclown sightings across North Americabut said the topic appears to be mainly associated to social media and occurrences in other jurisdictions.
Policesaid if anyone feels unsafe police should be called immediately, "clown or not."
Hartmiersays sheunderstands that social media plays a big part in how people get their information and she hopes that people will think before they share anything on their personal social media accounts.
"People are passing on incorrect information, they're not doing their actual fact finding and then they are just sharing this information and exploiting the fact," said Hartmier.