Sesame Place, a “Sesame Street"-themed amusement park in Pennsylvania, is getting more heat for its response to a viral video that showed one of its characters appearing to reject two children who reached out to her during a parade.
The venue was blasted Sunday when the children’s mother posted the clip on Instagram showing the park’s costumed Rosita character walking past the kids, who are Black, claiming that the performer “blatantly told our kids NO then proceeded to hug the little white girl” next to them.
“I’m going to keep posting this, because this had me hot,” the mother, who goes by @__jodiii__ on Instagram, said in the caption.
“We were on our way out of sesame place and the kids wanted to stop to see the characters. THIS DISGUSTING person blatantly told our kids NO then proceeded to hug the little white girl next to us! Then when I went to complain about it, they looking at me like I’m crazy,” she wrote. “I asked the lady who the character was and I wanted to see a supervisor and she told me SHE DIDNT KNOW !! I will never step foot in @sesameplace ever again ! And please feel free to repost this. Actually run me my money back ... so mad I stopped the video but it got me so mad when he blatantly told them no.”
The mother’s video, which cut off after the character appeared to motion “no” in front of her children, gained more traction after it was picked up by several activists and trending-culture account the Shade Room, where thousands of the account’s 27 million followers commented on the alleged racism.
“It was the look on the Children’s faces for me !!! Crushing as a mom,” wrote “The Boy Is Mine” singer Monica.
“I am so sad that @SesamePlace would do this to children… any children!!!!! WHY?!!!!!” tweeted “Abbott Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph.
“I swear. I watched the video my sister @__jodiii__ posted of my niece @sesameplace about 50 times. My heart breaks for my baby Sky has turned into anger. All she wanted was a hit five. It’s bad enough our kids can’t wear hoodies or have a bag of skittles. Now this,” mobile bartender Yanie Brown wrote.
Destiny’s Child alum Kelly Rowland also shared the footage on her Instagram Stories with the captions “OH HELL NAWWW!!” and “This just made me So mad!!”
“OK. So, had that been me, that whole parade would’ve been in flames,” she said. “Like are you serious? You’re not gonna speak to my child? And did you see that baby’s face at the end? The little one with the pink on. She deserves an explanation. Hello.”
The explanation came later Sunday when the park — which is owned and owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and claims to be a “live embodiment” of the “Sesame Street” program — released a statement about inclusivity and equality. But it wasn’t received well.
“Our brand, our park and our employees stand for inclusivity and equality in all forms. That is what Sesame Place is about and we do not tolerate any behaviors in our parks that are contrary to that commitment. We also are, and have always been, committed to making sure every family and every child has the best possible experience at our parks and we are incredibly disappointed when that does not happen,” said the statement, which was posted on Instagram.
“Regarding the incident yesterday, the costumes our performers wear sometimes make it difficult to see at lower levels and sometimes our performers miss hug requests from guests,” it said. “The performer portraying the Rosita character has confirmed that the ‘no’ hand gesture see several times in the video was not directed to any specific person, rather it was a response to multiple requests from someone in the crowd who asked Rosita to hold their child for a photo which is not permitted. The Rosita performer did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated about the misunderstanding.”
The statement went on to say that representatives spoke to the family, apologized and invited them back for a meet-and-greet with the characters.
“We apologize to these guests for not delivering the experience they expected and we commit to do our best to earn their and all guests’ visit and support.”
The statement did not suffice for several critics who flooded the post’s comments section, dubbing it “a pathetic mess” and “so sad and disappointing.” Many characterized it as a lie.
“I’ve been accused of being unreasonable so although I’ve been burning up about this allll day, I waited to see how @sesameplace would respond,” social-justice activist Tamika D. Mallory wrote, re-posting Sesame Place’s statement on her Instagram account. “Are y’all serious??? We can see clear as day with our eyes that damn person look at the kids and wave NO NO NO right at them. Are you kidding? I can’t even believe they accepted the word of this person and repeated it to the world. The audacity ...
“I tell you what…they should release the race of the person in the costume. I wanna see something!” she added.
“When they say (white) kids are too young to learn about race they’re willfully ignoring the fact that little Black children are assaulted by it in utero, at birth, infancy and childhood,” added Lauren Napier Beauty founder Lauren Napier. “Every Black child has experience this level of racism from a white person — likely an adult.”
On Sunday, the children’s mother shared an update on Instagram Stories and was disappointed by Sesame Place‘s statement.
“Wow smh [shaking my head]! Now this,” she wrote, posting a copy of the statement.
“I never asked for that character to take a picture and As I am watching my video I don’t believe that family asked either,” she added. “I whole heartedly feel as though that statement was released to save face. Also a [manager] reached out to me earlier via phone convo. I [responded] via dm to confirm. Since the post went viral no communication was had since then! @sesameplace instead of trying to save face you should of gave a public apology to my girls ! That statement disrespectful and distasteful. Talk about adding insult to injury. I will re-post this video every day until it is rectified”
The mother said she tried to handle the situation as calmly as possible and believes the park’s response “made it worse.”
“The character could’ve just waved to everyone or just kept walking, but to blatantly look at my kids and say no! I’m not [accepting] that,” she wrote in another Instagram Story. “Don’t try to tell me he can’t see lower levels. He looked at them and said no!! So embarrassing and hurtful... Signed: A hurt mom”
Earlier, she also also thanked those who have supported her since the video went viral and let her girls know that so “many people have their backs.”
She did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
Sesame Place is 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia, in Langhorne, Pa., and opened in 1980. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment operates the park under an exclusive license from Sesame Workshop, the non-profit that owns “Sesame Street.” A second park, Sesame Place San Diego, opened in Chula Vista in March.
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