The latest fictional character to face accusations of racism is the mascot of a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in New Jersey.
The incident happened on July 30 when Natyana Muhammad brought her kids to the franchise’s location in Wayne, New Jersey. During a meet-and-greet time, an employee who was playing Chuck E. Cheese allegedly disregarded Natyana Muhammad’s daughter.
In a video she shared on Twitter, the employee can be seen walking past as a young youngster extends out her hand for a high-five. Muhammad stated about the incident: “My 2-year-old was subjected to racial discrimination.”
As you can see, he purposefully disregarded my black infant while giving high fives to all the [white] children.
Muhammad, who tweets as Umm Safa, alleges that the musical mouse player ignored her when she challenged him, and the restaurant’s manager, Angie Valasquez, allegedly “made excuses for him.”
It follows a similar incident in which Rosita allegedly made fun of two other black girls from New York at the Sesame Street theme park in Langhorne, outside of Philadelphia.
However, many have questioned if the claimed acts of bigotry could instead be attributed to staff members frequently donning cumbersome costumes with low visibility, making it impossible for them to see every child pleading for help.
The woman’s daughter can be seen jumping up and down in this most recent video before attempting to high five Chuck E.
The character definitely gives high fives to a number of children before passing the young girl.
According to Muhammad, the girl was thrilled to see him when she turned around and noticed that he was giving high fives to all the other children.
She extended her hand. Her turn had come.
He simply reached in and put his hand down while pretending not to notice her.
She continues by claiming that the eatery “insisted” that her daughter take a photo with Chuck E.
‘Chuck E. Cheese is devastated when any family or child has a less than perfect experience,’ the company said in a statement.
We appreciate the family for alerting us to this and allowing the on-site manager a chance to personally apologise and address their concerns.
The employer didn’t seem to imply that either the employee or the manager ought to be disciplined.
‘Gave the onsite management the opportunity to apologise when she said, ‘I’m sorry you feel that way,’ Was that the apology?’ Muhammad asked dismissively.
After then, according to Muhammad, her daughter’s behaviour changed from being cheerful, thrilled, bouncing, and high-fiving to simply standing next to him for the photo.
I gave her a big hug and assured her that she would never have to beg for love since she is dearly loved.
The reported incident follows the controversy after black kids appeared to be ignored by Sesame Street characters during parades at the Pennsylvania amusement park, which was captured on camera.
Some sceptics have questioned whether the purported racist incidents were really just staff personnel in cumbersome costumes who couldn’t see every child pleading for help.
During the meet-and-greet on June 18, one family claimed four staffers disguised as Sesame Street characters disregarded Quinton Burns, his daughter Kennedi Burns, and other black guests.
As he announced a $25 million lawsuit against the parent corporation of the theme park, Quinton Burns stated, “Just looking at her face, it makes me want to cry every time I see it.”
The extensive complaint was prompted by a viral video that appeared to show Rosita shunning two other black girls from New York during a parade at a park outside of Philadelphia called Langhorne.
In a statement, Sesame Place expressed regret for the situation and clarified that the actor wearing the Rosita costume was simply unable to see their daughter owing to the restricted range of vision of the outfit.
More families came forward with comparable experiences as a result of the uproar.
The lawsuit claims that “many similarly situated white patrons” were easily approached by SeaWorld’s entertainers.
Malcolm Ruff, one of the family’s attorneys, demanded transparency from SeaWorld and compensation for the Burns family during a press conference on Wednesday.
Ruff claimed that despite being surrounded by other young white children who could communicate, exchange hugs, and high fives, “she was ignored.”
At the age of 5, Kennedi was made to experience racism. We will not remain silent and permit this to go on because it is intolerable,’ Ruff said.
A similar incident occurred at a Chuck E. Cheese location in New Orleans a few years ago, according to Damon Payne, who said that one of the chain’s mascots ‘ignored’ his child in favour of hugging white children.
He caught her interacting with the restaurant’s recognisable mouse character at a location in Metairie, New Orleans, on camera.
She may be seen standing up and gazing at Chuck E. with her arms spread in Payne’s video recording of her encounter with the mouse.
Little Dynver is seen standing helpless while he waves and embraces other kids. Go in front of him, her father commands.
The worker then raises her arms in an attempt to hug the mouse, but instead turns to embrace other kids.
You can hear Damon asking, “You don’t see her?”
She is right there, he continues.
After that, he asks, “You witnessed that, right?” who was positioned next to him.
You can see the mouse standing as the youngster looks at the plaything and the father keeps asking, “You don’t notice her?”
My kids will never step foot back in Chuck E. Cheeses, Payne captioned a little video clip he posted on his Instagram page. Race doesn’t care about your age.
“Would you kindly post this and tag anyone in authority? She didn’t deserve it,” you ask. At the one in Metairie, that is.
According to WDSU, Payne gave the manager the video and told him about the employee’s behaviour.
The manager apparently made the family an insulting offer by giving them 50 free tickets to use in the store’s shop.
Payne claimed that on Tuesday, a different manager contacted him and informed him that it is company policy that the character not make eye contact with any children and should instead wait for the youngster to approach.
DailyMail.com was unable to get in touch with Chuck E. Cheese for a comment at the time.
However, the business told WDSU in a statement that its cast members were instructed not to make physical contact with kids in case they were scared of Chuck E.
We want to reassure our customers that we go above and beyond to ensure that all children and families enjoy a positive dining experience at our establishments.