More videos have surfaced showing the Sesame Street costumed character Rosita snubbing black children at the Philadelphia theme park.
The first video showed two young black cousins being snubbed by the blue Muppet at Sesame Place while giving high-fives to white children, sparking accusations of racism.
Leslie Mac, a Philadelphia resident and the aunt of the girls, claims that after the video criticising the theme park’s “bulls***” apology went viral on TikTok, her family has hired an attorney and plans to sue the business.
Sesame Place described it as a “misunderstanding,” adding that the mascot’s poor vision from the bulky mask of the costume prevented it from catching sight of the girl who was in the park celebrating her birthday.
However, numerous instances of Rosita seemingly ignoring other Black children have since surfaced online.
B’Ivory LaMarr, the family’s lawyer, also disclosed to The Daily Beast that several families have contacted him over the character acting in a similar manner toward black children.
In one video, while high-fiving adjacent white children, Rosita appears to ignore a black boy who ran out to meet her during a parade.
In another, a little black girl waves at Rosita while stretching out her hand, but the character ignores her and instead hugs a white child who is standing next to her.
In other videos that are comparable, the Sesame Street character appears to give preference to white children in a mixed gathering.
One posted the caption: ‘Now, I’m not saying #Rosita is racist.. but whoever is under this/those masks sure is curving a bunch of brown kids.
‘She ignored Lola TWICE last Sunday. (7/10) Lola ran up to her saying “ROSITA!” The character went out of their way to change course and Immediately after hugged and took a pic with a little white girl. Investigate this pattern.’
Ben Crump, a well-known civil rights lawyer, declared Wednesday that the actor’s “disgusting behaviour” was “absolutely heartbreaking.”
After receiving a barrage of hate mail on social media, the park has since given in and announced plans to teach staff members against racial intolerance.
The two girls in the first popular video were obviously perplexed, according to attorney LaMarr. The entire family was under a great deal of stress.
Even after trying to speak with management but being ignored, the mother made an effort to explain racism to the little girls as they were being driven home from the park.
He said: ‘The family wants a couple of things. They want a public, formal apology. They want something that is genuine, authentic… Acknowledge what happened and investigate it and take the appropriate action.’
He stated that although the family does not want to sue, they may do so if the park does not meet their demands.
Ms Mac, the girls’ aunt, is a self-proclaimed ‘anti-racism trainer’ who was named to Essence Magazine’s list of 100 Woke Women in 2020.
She took to TikTok yesterday to explain the circumstances around the incident.
She said: ‘If you haven’t heard, my great niece held her fourth birthday party at Sesame Place over this past weekend with her friends and their parents – and it didn’t end well.
Mac went on to reveal that she was in talks with the the adult who had reportedly accompanied the two kids on the trip, who she referred to as ‘the mom and aunt of the two little girls in the video.’
‘While they were with a bigger group,’ Mac said, ‘this incident happened specifically to them.’
Mac said she had spoken to the woman, who she called ‘Jodie,’ and said the family were irate over the altercation and were planning to pursue legal action.
Mac then added: ‘The next thing I wanna address is the fact that more videos have come out since this video went viral.
‘I think we’re up to like six videos that show blatantly performers at Sesame Place ignoring black children and non white children while giving attention to white children.’
In a general statement, Sesame Place said: ‘We sincerely apologize to the family for their experience in our park on Saturday; we know that it’s not ok.
‘We are taking actions to do better. We are committed to making this right.
‘We will conduct training for our employees so they better understand, recognize and deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience to our guests.
‘For over 40 years Sesame Place has worked to uphold the values of respect, inclusion and belonging. We are committed to doing a better job making children and families feel special, seen and included when they come to our parks.’
