Wheelchair incident leads to apology, awareness

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The story of a 12-year-old girl in a wheelchair being denied access to a Sioux Falls stage has already sparked an important conversation and prompted an apology from the band Foreigner.

As we first told you Thursday night, The Sioux Falls Children’s Choir was chosen to perform with the band Wednesday night at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.

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But that afternoon, the girl’s mother found out the band couldn’t accommodate her daughter’s wheelchair on stage for the performance.

The choir’s executive and artistic director, Kaela Schuiteman, says she communicated with Foreigner’s team several times about 12-year-old Halle Bauman’s wheelchair, and yet she found out Wednesday that Halle wouldn’t be able to join the rest of the kids.

“To my understanding, some people didn’t know that she was going to be on stage, that there was someone in a wheelchair coming on stage, and so they were not prepared was one of the excuses,” Schuiteman told KELOLAND News on Thursday.

Shelly Johnson is the director of development at DakotAbilities, a non-profit that supports people with disabilities.

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She said she’s disappointed by what happened Wednesday.

“That must’ve just been crushing for the whole choir, and especially that young lady and her family,” Johnson said.

But she hopes it will spark more awareness about people with disabilities.

“It’s unfortunate that it happened, but if it’s going to generate conversation and bring about awareness then again I hope we can take something that’s negative and turn it into something positive,” Johnson said.

The conversation has already started on Facebook, where Foreigner’s bassist issued an apology:

“Foreigner wants to extend our sincerest apologies to the 12-year-old singer from the Sioux Falls Children’s Choir who was denied stage access due to her wheelchair. We’re deeply disappointed in the mistake made by our team and understand the impact it had on this talented young fan. We believe music should be inclusive for all and are taking steps to ensure our shows are accessible to everyone. We hope to make it up to her and her family, and we’re committed to doing better in the future.”

We’ve reached out o a marketing representative for Foreigner, asking for an interview, and haven’t heard back.