Nothing Says Christmas Like a TGI Fridays Mistletoe Drone to the Face

NEWS FROM THE WINTERY FRONT: This year, TGI Fridays decided to get into the holiday spirit with an unusual gimmick and introduced mistletoe-laden drones at several branches. One has already flown straight into someone’s face. In other words, CHRISTMAS STRIKES BACK.

The victim was a photographer for Brooklyn’s Courier Life (h/t the Daily Dot), who accompanied a reporter to check out the seasonal drones in action. They got their story, all right:

“It literally chipped off a tip of my nose,” said Benvenuto, using tissues to stanch the blood. “It took off part of my nose and cut me here, right under my chin…. Thank god it didn’t go anywhere under my eye — that is my livelihood.”

(A fellow patron, who saw a photo from the incident, was not impressed: “It was like a scratch on her nose,” adding that, “I’ve seen far more worse blood than that.” Takes more than a drone to the face to impress diners at a Brooklyn TGI Fridays, I guess.) To add insult to facial injury, the drone operator apparently tried to blame Benvenuto’s colleague, Courier Life reporter Vanessa Ogle:

Quiones had encouraged our reporter to let him land the smaller of the two aircraft on her hand, but she flinched when the 10-inch drone touched down — and he said that is what caused the four-bladed flying machine to careen into the face of our photographer nearby.

But the drone operator doubted this little mishap would discourage diners: “If people get hurt, they’re going to come regardless. People get hurt in airplanes, they still fly.” A TGI Fridays spokesperson said they’ve had no previous troubles with the drones, and they do not expect further incidents. Nevertheless, we encourage all foot soldiers in the War on Christmas to steer clear. Our enemies are not to be underestimated.