San Diego Mayor Denies Orlando Bloom Claim He Fled Comic-Con Exhibit Over Immigrant Theme

Anita Bennett

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San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s office says there’s no truth to claims the Republican abruptly left an interactive Comic-Con exhibit hosted by Amazon Prime, after learning he would be portrayed as an “immigrant.”

The brouhaha started when Carnival Row star Orlando Bloom said during a Friday panel on the upcoming series that Faulconer visited the exhibit, but left because he didn’t like what he saw.

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The installation allowed attendees to play a human or creature character. According to Bloom and some published reports, Faulconer chose a creature without realizing they’re all immigrants on the show. The mayor was reportedly issued an “identity card” saying he was a “mythological scrappy immigrant,” prompting him to leave.

Faulconer’s spokesperson refuted the claims, saying he left because the wait was too long.

“The Mayor never even went inside the activation for this show as there was a wait. He continued to tour the area and saw activations for other Amazon studio shows,” press secretary Ashley Bailey said in a statement to Deadline. “Mayor Faulconer has a strong record on immigration, including working with nonprofits and local agencies to provide shelter to migrant families, and advocating for comprehensive immigration reform.”

Faulconer tweeted video earlier in the week, showing himself taking in the scene at Comic-Con.

“A morning at #ComicCon is a morning well spent,” he tweeted Thursday.

Carnival Row, an eight-part series from Rene Echevarria, Travis Beacham and Legendary Television, is set in a Victorian fantasy world filled with mythological immigrant creatures whose homelands were invaded by the empires of man.

Bloom is joined in the cast by Cara Delevingne, David Gyasi, Karla Crome, Indira Varma, Tamzin Merchant, Simon McBurney, Andrew Gower and Jamie Harris.

The series premieres August 30, in over 200 countries and territories with dubbed foreign-language versions launching later this year.

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