Naughty Joke Santa
For more than two decades, John Toomey had been telling customers the same silly joke while playing Santa Claus at the Macy's in San Francisco's shopping district. Toomey — or Santa John, as the locals call him — first asks visitors if they've been good the past year. When they answer yes, Toomey quips that that's too bad, since Santa's so jolly because he knows where all the naughty boys and girls live. But in 2010, the joke cost Toomey his longtime gig with the retailer after an unamused couple complained about the remarks to Macy's management. Toomey says he doesn't tell the joke to children and has never gotten complaints about it before. But it wasn't all bad news for the naughty-mouthed Santa John. After Macy's dumped him, a neighborhood restaurant owner offered Toomey the chance to play Santa at double his department store pay.