Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, who recently turned 18, has come under an intense wave of criticism following reports that the player hired people with dwarfism to act as entertainers for his birthday party. The Barcelona man, who is yet to make a statement on the same, has returned to Barcelona for pre-season ahead of the 2025/26 campaign. One of the entertainers hired for Yamal’s party has defended the event after criticism from a disability rights group. The birthday celebration of the Barcelona star included a Dominican rapper, a mafia-themed dress code, and entertainers with dwarfism, from which the last sparked a strong reaction from the Association of People with Achondroplasia and Other Bone Dysplasias (ADEE). ADEE called the act degrading and has vowed to take “legal and social” action against the organisers, as per an official statement on the ADEE website. However, one of the performers at the party has pushed back, saying they were treated with respect and had every right to do their job. “No one disrespected us, let us work in peace. I don’t understand why there’s so much hype,” the entertainer told RAC1. “We’re normal people who do what we want, in an absolutely legal way.” The artist also criticised the association for trying to limit job options for people with dwarfism. “(ADEE) is humiliating people with dwarfism. For a couple of years now, these people have been harming us; they want to ban a job that we like, and in no case have they offered jobs or courses to the affected people,” he told RAC1. “We work as entertainers. Why can’t we do it? Because of our physical condition?” He also said that the current backlash has more to do with ADEE’s internal politics than the event itself. “There is a new president who feels self-conscious and wants to screw us others. We know what our limit is and we will never exceed it: we are not fairground monkeys,” he said. Describing what they did at the party, the artist said they danced, served drinks, and performed magic. “There are many types of shows,” he added. “Afterwards, we joined the rest of the party like everyone else. The only reason there’s backlash is because it was Lamine Yamal’s party.”
