Local women says she was kicked out of a movie because she has a baby

Amandalee Merryman cherishes times when the entire family can get together.

“We were out as a family which we rarely get to do. There’s so many of us, our schedules clash. We were here to have a good time,” Merryman said.

Friday night, Merryman and her family came to see Fast & Furious 6, a PG-13 film, at Regal Rancho Mirage Stadium 16. Merryman didn’t even see half of it, though.

“We got about an hour into the movie, I see management staff starts to approach people in the the theater and they start to leave. They then approached me and said, ‘Can you and your son please step outside, you need to leave,'” Merryman said.

Merryman and her 8-month-old son joined other parents outside the theater as management told the group they needed to leave.

“They told us because you have babies. I said, ‘Was there a noise complaint?’ They said, ‘No, you guys have babies,'” Merryman said.

Merryman got a refund, but she said she feels discriminated against for having a baby.

We talked to a manager at Stadium 16, who said the theater has “no comment.”

We checked on the theater’s policy. Its website referred us to the Motion Picture Association of America’s site, which says movie ratings are only recommendations. Ultimately, it’s up to parents to decide.

“I’m the first as a mother, if my child is making noise, to take my child outside the theater if he is making noise so he’s not an inconvenience to others. He wasn’t making a sound,” Merryman said.

We also checked other theaters in the desert. One told us babies are always welcome so long as they’re quiet. Another says babies are welcome, except in rated R movies after 6:00.