The Mall of America hired its first black Santa this year and he visited with kids this weekend at the Bloomington mall, but it wasn't without controversy.

The Star Tribune's report about Santa Larry Jefferson generated so many racist and hateful comments, the newspaper had to shut down comments on its website.

Santa Larry was at the mall Thursday through Sunday and all the time slots were booked and only a waitlist was available to see the popular Santa.

I bet not one kid worried about the color of Santa's skin when they sat on his lap, so why are a bunch of close-minded adults so considered about the color of Santa's skin? Really sad.

Good for the Mall of America for hiring him and I hope that the kids that saw him this weekend were filled with holiday joy after meeting him. And I hope the racist a-holes that have a problem with Santa Larry get a big lump of black coal in their stockings for Christmas.

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