Source: Dania Maxwell / Getty
Sesame Place continues to face racism allegations as more online users post videos of their children’s experiences at the Philadelphia theme park.
Earlier this week, a clip of an employee dressed as the Sesame Street character Rosita snubbing two young Black girls went viral.
The girls’ mother, a woman named Jodi, uploaded the clip to bring attention to the poor treatment her daughters faced.
Now, other online users are also sharing footage of what they claim is discriminatory and problematic behavior happening at Sesame Place towards its young Black and Brown patrons.
In a clip shared by an Instagram user whose handle is @champagne_tio_, a Sesame Place employee dressed as Telly Monster walked towards his daughter before quickly changing direction and giving his attention to other children.
“My 5yr old daughter experienced the same type of treatment at the same park! After being ignored by several characters I finally did the noble dad thing and got one’s attention and pointed at my daughter,” @champagne_tio_ explained. “The character walked towards my daughter, who was expecting a high five, just for him to turn and blow her off once he seen an Asian kid with his hand out and gave him the high five instead… then brushes my daughters hand off… I dismissed this behavior until I seen @__jodiii__ video of a similar situation with her daughters!!”
Unfortunately, several other videos of Sesame Place employees mistreating Black and Brown children have recently been circulating online.
In a clip shared on Facebook, one user even claimed that a character “slapped” her young cousin.
Sesame Place Issues Another Apology
Sesame Place issued a second public apology on July 19 for the incident involving Jodi’s daughters.
“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,” the statement reads. “We are committed to doing a better job making children and families feel special, seen and included when they come to our parks.”
Sesame Workshop also issued a statement yesterday in light of the continued backlash.
The organization said it’s taking the incident involving Jodi’s daughters “very seriously” because what the children experienced is “unacceptable.”
“We have been in contact with Sesame Place, our licensed park partner, and they have assured us that they will conduct bias training and a thorough review of the ways in which they engage with families and guests,” the workshop stated. “We will continue working with our long-term partner Sesame Place to ensure that appropriate actions are taken and that incidents like this do not happen in the future.”
Read the statement in full down below.
