Sesame Place Philadelphia is apologizing after video went viral this week of one of its characters appearing to ignore two Black children at an event.
There was quick and fierce reaction, not just from the mother of those children, but from activists and others across the country.
Now the theme park is vowing to try and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.
In the now-viral video shared by the girls’ mother on Instagram, the character, Rosita, is clearly waving and giving people high fives as she approaches the girls.
The girls reach out to her when Rosita seemingly shakes her head, hand waves “no” and walks away.
The mom called the incident “disgusting” and said she will never step foot in Sesame Place again.
In response, Sesame Place Philadelphia released a statement, saying in part: “Our brand, our park and our employees stand for inclusivity and equality in all forms. That is what Sesame Place is about and we do not tolerate any behaviors in our parks that are contrary to that commitment.”
They go on to explain that “the costumes our performers wear sometimes make it difficult to see at lower levels and sometimes our performers miss hug requests from guests,” adding that the performer portraying Rosita, “did not intentionally ignore the girls.”
But after saying they invited the family back to the park for a special meet and greet with the characters and amid a wave of criticism following the now-viral video and that initial statement, Sesame Place released a follow-up statement Monday night, saying this was not OK and that they will work to make things right.
“We sincerely apologize to the family for their experience,” the statement read. “We know that it’s not okay. We will conduct training for our employees so they better understand, recognize, and deliver an inclusive, equitable, and entertaining experience to our guests.”
The original video has gotten more than half a million views on Instagram and a repost of the same video on Twitter has received more than 8.5 million views so far.
According to TMZ, the family has now gotten an attorney to investigate the situation, and potentially sue the theme park.