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Sesame Workshop, the non-profit that manages Sesame Street, has responded to the viral video of a Sesame Place Philadelphia staff member seemingly being racist towards two black children.
Digital strategist Leslie Mac posted a video from a little girl named Paige's fourth birthday, which shows Paige and another little girl being ignored and waved off by a perfomer in the Rosita costume at Sesame Place Philadelphia. The video racked up more than 8 million views and the incident has been trending ever since.
Social media users condemned Sesame Place Philadelphia for this heartbreaking incident. Celebrities like Kelly Rowland, Audra McDonald, and Yvette Nicole Brown condemned the theme park publicly.
Yvette Nicole Brown shared a screenshot from the video that captured the sad expression on the little kids' faces, and tweeted:
“Every Black woman was once a little Black girl who made this face when the way things are for us in America first broke her heart.”
Sesame Place, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, posted a detailed apology
The internet demanded answers from Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit responsible for producing Sesame Street.
Sesame Workshop took to their social media platforms to address the issue. The company noted that the theme park is willing to conduct "bias training" for their employees to "review the ways in which they engage with families and guests." They said:
"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."
Sesame Place Philadelphia also shared an apology statement that read:
"We sincerely apologize to the family for their experience in our park on Saturday; we know that it’s not OK. We will conduct training for our employees so they better understand, recognize and deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience to our guests."
Social media reacts to Sesame Workshop's reply
While Sesame Street's parent company and Sesame Place Philadelphia shared their official statements regarding the matter, Twitterati has not been too happy with the same. One user called the latter's statements "horrible," and quite a few shared videos of the staff displaying similar behavior.
Further updates
Sesame Place Philadelphia's initial response on their Instagram page had explained how the "no" gesture from the performer wearing the Rosita costume had been an attempt to decline requests to hold children for pictures during the event. They had also mentioned that after speaking to the concerned family, the organization had extended their apologies and "invited them back for a special meet-and-greet opportunity" with the characters.
However, Leslie Mac clarified that the theme park had not got in touch with the family, contrary to their claims. She posted on Twitter:
According to TMZ, the concerned family has hired an attorney to further investigate the matter. Attorney B’Ivory LaMarr told the publication that they will interview other people associated with the incident and evaluate the several videos online that show similar behavior from performers.
