The 68-year-old Toomey said he was fired because he had asked older people who sat on his lap at Macy's if they had been good. When they answered yes, he replied: "Gee, that's too bad." If they asked why Santa was so jolly, Toomey said it was because he knew where all the naughty boys and girls lived.

Toomey said the jokes are ones he has told for decades without any problems, and he emphasized that he didn't make such jokes with kids.
A number of Toomey's co-workers at Macy's said they were devastated by Santa John's firing.

"He's totally the best Santa ever, very jolly and very authentic. "I've been coming to see him for years. There's just nobody better," said Sharon Owens, 56, of Oakland.