Sesame Place Under Fire For Snubbing Two Black Girls in Viral Video

News - 7 months ago

Jaelani Turner-Williams Jaelani Turner-Williams is a contributing news writer for Okayplayer with…

Photo Credit: Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

A now-viral video shows a Sesame Place park employee dressed as Rosita from Sesame Street dismissing two Black girls during a parade.

Sesame Place is being criticized after a now-viral video shows two Black girls being rejected by a park employee dressed as Rosita from long-running children series Sesame Street. In the clip from Sunday (July 17), Rosita is seen high-fiving two white parkgoers, before shaking her head “no” and walking away from two Black girls during a parade. After being dismissed by Rosita, the two girls appear confused and disheartened.

#BabyPaige & her cute lil friends went to @SesamePlace this weekend to celebrate Paige's 4th birthday & this is how #SesamePlace treated these beautiful Black children. I'm HOT. pic.twitter.com/wATjpRzUF1

— Leslie Mac (@LeslieMac) July 17, 2022

On Instagram, the mother of the two girls wrote a scathing caption directed towards Sesame Place.

“I’m going to keep posting this, because this had me hot,” she wrote. “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,” the mother continued. “I asked the lady who the character was and I wanted to see a supervisor and she told me SHE DIDNT KNOW !!” she continued. “I will never step foot in @sesameplace ever again.”

A separate video shows the park employee in the Rosita costume ignoring another Black child.

I wonder how they’re going to explain this then? Just a coincidence? pic.twitter.com/hHQDJURqOd

— courtney (@sweetnwoah) July 18, 2022

According to Billboard, Kelly Rowland has responded to the clip of the two Black girls, jokingly saying “had that been me, that whole parade would’ve been in flames.”

I'm with Kelly Rowland on this one you know those fuzzy costumes look quite flammable. Sesame Place put out a lame statement to say it was because the beautiful baby girls wanted hugs but the mom said the character hugged a white child IMMEDIATELY AFTER https://t.co/bGITwaOaPt https://t.co/QUMz4sivSB pic.twitter.com/roLiOtMWsL

— THEE PainInMyalgia🌻💛 (@tweetysoph86) July 18, 2022

Sesame Place has since responded to Sunday’s incident claiming that the “no” gesture was not to offend the two Black girls, but to respond to another person in the crowd who wanted their child to be held for a photo. Sesame Place says the park employee is “devastated” at the backlash and the Philadelphia theme park has invited the family back for a meet and greet with characters.

I don’t believe this explanation. It’s nice they invited the kids back for a meet and greet, but Rosita saw those babies and waved them off. Sesame Place is just hoping this will blow over. pic.twitter.com/UnPIIWQ0MJ

— Brooke 🌊 (@BrookeClyde81) July 18, 2022

Check out responses to the theme park below.

So apparently the Sesame Place has a history of ignoring black kids… Here's a thread of the proof. pic.twitter.com/jblam47HHn

— My Hair Longer Than Yours… (@_TheShawn) July 18, 2022

THEY HAVE NOT INVITED THE KIDS BACK FOR ANYTHING. This statement is the first & only time the family heard about this offer & Sesame Place has cut off email communications. The entire statement is a lie. https://t.co/RrtJ4mJbwV

— Leslie Mac (@LeslieMac) July 18, 2022

It's upsetting because no matter what damage control is attempted by Sesame Place, nothing can undo how these babies were made to feel in this moment. The looks on their faces are so heartbreaking. https://t.co/orkTmnwbaF

— krh (@kyiarenee) July 17, 2022

Hello @SesamePlace

The employee who performs in the Rosita costume seems to engage in a pattern of deliberately ignoring Black children who tries to engage with the character. This employee needs to be fired TODAY, unless Sesame Place condones this type of anti-Black energy pic.twitter.com/PThOwsnS5F

— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) July 18, 2022

sesame place, show who’s behind the costume! pic.twitter.com/7AgocbBFmA

— A S H B 🫶🏽 (@AshBTheDon) July 18, 2022

This is my local Sesame Place… I'm so sad for these little babies. And respectfully the BS response provided just made it worse.
You do not have to worry about me giving them an ounce of my black dollars. https://t.co/FT1SJv6SqN

— Ja𝕟𝕖𝕝_Mona𝕚 (@JUiCEY_K0UTURE) July 18, 2022