It’s okay Rosita, we like Big Bird anyway!
After a video went viral of a mother calling out Sesame Place Philadelphia, the theme park has since then issued an apology.
On July 17, the amusement center said,
The performer portraying the Rosita charater has confired that the ‘no’ hand gesture seen several times in the video was not directed to any specific person.
They added,
It was a response to multiple requests from someon in the crowd who asked Rosita to hold their child for a photo which was not permitted. The Rosita performer did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated about the misunderstanding.
In addition to their apology, Sesame Place said they spoke with the family and offered a personalized meet-and-greet.
The woman who shared the video (July 17) took to Instagram and called out the fun park after observing an employee in a Rosita costume disregarding her Black daughters.
Rosita can be seen openly greeting other children around with high-fives and hugs. However, the little girls offering for interaction went ignored.
@_Jodiii_, as she’s identified on the social site, detailed the moment saying,
I’m going to keep posting this, because this had me hot. 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[were]looking at me like I’m crazy.
She concluded,
I asked the lady who the character was and I wanted to see a supervisor and she told me SHE DIDNT KNOW !! I will never step foot in @sesameplace ever again ! And please feel free to repost this. Actually run me my money back 😡🤬so mad I stopped the video but it got me so mad when he blatantly told them no.
Watch the clip below:
View this post on Instagram
Last year in May, a Charlotte, North Carolina amusement park was under fire for alleged racial misconduct toward Black employees.
According to NewsWeek, several laborers quit their jobs at Frankie’s Fun Park. They protested that their manager would spew racial disparities without ramifications.
One worker said that the supervisor once referred to the Black co-workers as a “bunch of monkeys.”
Doug Godley, the owner of the amusement park, told Channel 9 News that they “never received a complaint” from the racial remarks. “They never contacted our human resources department, not one complaint,” he said.
Godley also said he spoke with management who denied the claims,
“We would have been glad to have any kind of discussion, meeting, anything at the appropriate time. But to do that when there’s a park full of guests, it isn’t the time to have the discussion,” the owner explained.”
