Duckworth says a broken elevator prevented her from taking her kids to ‘Barbie’
Source: The Hill
Sen. Tammy Duckworth says she was ready to go party with “Barbie” — until a broken elevator turned her Barbie dreams into a wheelchair-inaccessible bummer.
The Illinois Democrat recounted how she had plans this week to join the millions of theatergoers heading to see “Barbie,” which stars Margot Robbie as the famed doll. The hit film so far has reportedly grossed more than $214 million in North America since its release last week.
“Barbie is a big thing in my house,” Duckworth told Politico in an interview published Friday.
“I have a 5-year-old and 8-year-old. We have three Barbie Dream houses, including one I set up — all 900 pieces,” added Duckworth, 55.
“So we were super excited for the movie.”
Duckworth, who lost both her legs in 2004 while serving in Iraq, said she checked to ensure that the movie theater in Illinois was wheelchair accessible. But when she arrived there with her daughters and their friends for the “Barbie” outing, the group learned that the elevator was broken.
The elevator saga came just days after Duckworth marked the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), saying in a statement this week, “It’s past time we make sure accessibility is the default in America — not an afterthought.”
“Decades after the ADA, we shouldn’t have to keep pouring so much energy just into defending the basic rights our Constitution promised,” she said.
Unfortunately, there was no happy ending to Duckworth’s “Barbie” tale: The lawmaker said she wasn’t able to go to the film because of the elevator snafu and instead sent her kids and their friends along to see it while she waited outside.
“I’m pretty tough about these things,” she lamented. “But this one really was a little bit of a stab to my soul.”
By: Judy Kurtz
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