Screenshot via __jodiii__
Sesame Place, a Sesame Street-themed amusement park owned by Sea World, has issued an apology after a video went viral showing a character waving off two 6-year-old black girls during a parade.
The video was posted to Instagram by user Jodi Brown, the mother of one of the girls involved. The character, Rosita, seemed to refuse to high-five the two young girls after high-fiving a white child and woman moments earlier. Rosita then gestured “no” to the children and walked away from them. The parade took place at Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia.
The lawyer of the family, B’Ivory LaMarr, told AP on Tuesday that the family is disturbed by the “injuries propagated to their children.”
Sesame Place released an initial statement on Sunday regarding the incident, claiming that its employees stand for “inclusivity and equality in all forms.” The park also added that performers may miss hug requests due to the difficulty of seeing at lower levels while wearing the costumes. Sesame Place also stated that “the Rosita performer did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated by the misunderstanding.”
On Monday, Sesame Place issued a second statement, apologizing once more and stating it would take efforts to conduct training on inclusivity for its employees. The theme park also said it is “taking action to do better.”
Another video seems to show a two-year-old black child being ignored by the same character. This separate incident occurred on July 8.
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