Is woman flipping the bird in Oviedo Mall ad?

Photo appears to show woman displaying middle finger

OVIEDO, Fla. – It's an advertisement that's all over the Oviedo Mall, and it's what the woman is doing in the picture that has parents concerned.

"Why on earth would the mall actually have someone flipping off on their stuff? That's not what the mall was trying to say," shopper Karen Estes said.

"I see her middle finger, but if you hadn't pointed it out to me, I would not have seen that," Rasgard Sharpe said.

The photo controversy all started when someone posted the picture on Facebook. The parent said her 13-year-old daughter actually brought the mall brochure home and she was surprised to see what was printed on the front.

News 6 went to the mall to check it out and found the ad with the same woman all around the mall -- on banners hanging from the ceiling, stickers on door entrances and plastered on walls.

News 6 asked people what they see in the picture.

"I see a specific hand gesture on there. It's a little bit inappropriate," said Mike Coleman, who was at the mall with his son.

"It does look kind of bad when you think about it," another shopper said.

"It looks like she's posing and the camera caught it wrong," Estes said. "I'm a preacher and that does not offend me."

News 6 walked the mall a little farther and ran into another sign. In that one, the hand looked corrected.

Some say it's not worth the trouble.

"Don't waste the money to take it down. It's totally fine the way it is," Sharpe said.

News 6 contacted the mall several times via phone and email for a comment, and we're still waiting to hear back.


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