Sesame Place Accused Of Racism After Character Allegedly Ignores 2 Young Girls According to Pennsylvania Mom

Sesame Place Accused Of Racism After Character Allegedly Ignores 2 Young Girls According to Pennsylvania Mom

Racism is one of the common problems these days that should not be taken for granted. But can you imagine a child experiencing this type of treatment at a place where they were supposed to feel happy and welcomed?

Jodi Brown, a mom from Pennsylvania, is accusing a Sesame Street character of racism. She believes that because of their race, the person behind the Rosita mascot/costume deliberately ignored her young daughter and niece when they tried to seek out a hug.

Now after Jodi posted the video online, Sesame Place immediately faced major backlash…

The video shows the two girls waving at the Sesame Street character “Rosita” before being ignored.

Talking to Inside Edition, Jodi explained what happened. According to this mom, “Rosita” ignored the children she was with but didn’t ignore the other children in the waiting area, who happen to be of a different race.

Also talking to CNN, Jodi said that when Rosita came toward the two girls, they both reached out for a hug but were snubbed. She added, “Right after the character passed them, there was another little girl next to them who was of a different race, and [Rosita] hugged her. At that time I had already stopped recording the video… I was upset so I stopped the video because I was like ‘what just happened?”

In response to the allegations, Sesame Place issued its own statement, explaining:

“Our brand, our park and our employees stand for inclusivity and equality in all forms. That is what Sesame Place is all about and we do not tolerate any behaviors in our parks that are contrary to that commitment.”

“The performer portraying the Rosita character has confirmed that the ‘no’ hand gesture seen several times in the video was not directed to any specific person, rather it was a response to multiple requests from someone in the crowd who asked Rosita to hold their child for a photo which is not permitted. The Rosita performer did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated about the misunderstanding.”

They added:
“On Sunday we did speak with and apologize to the family for the experience, offering a return trip for a meet and greet personalized experience with the characters. We offered to refund her visit costs. That refund has been processed, but it would not have been received yet.”

“We apologize to these guests for not delivering the experience they expected and we commit to do our best to earn their and all guests’ visit and support.”

Even so, Jodi took to social media to deny Sesame Place’s claims saying that she hadn’t spoken to the theme park since trying to set up a meeting regarding the incident. Aside from their appearance and reputation, she thinks the statement was released to save their face.

After Jodi’s video went viral, more families started sharing similar experiences they had at the said theme park. This simply means that there is a huge possibility that what happened to Jodi’s family at Sesame Place was not an isolated incident.

“Unacceptable” – that was Sesame Workshop’s official response to the incident at Sesame Place, the nonprofit organization that produces the popular children’s show.

On the other hand, Sesame Place issued a follow-up statement saying that it will “conduct training for our employees so they better understand, recognize and deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience.”