Sesame Place has issued a public apology to the family of two little girls who were blatantly ignored by the Rosita character on Saturday.
A “hurt mom” put the park on blast and shared a video of the incident that has since gone viral.
After the park received an overwhelming amount of backlash, they added insult to injury by releasing a ridiculous statement where they took no accountability whatsoever.
After getting dragged all day, Sesame Place released another statement, this time an apology, and they promised to conduct training for all of their employees.
We sincerely apologize to the family for their experience in our park on Saturday; we know that it’s not ok. 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 for our guests.
For over 40 years Sesame Place has worked to uphold the values of respect, inclusion and belonging. We are committed to doing a better job making children and families feel special, seen and included when they come to our parks.
See the newly released statement below.
Actress Taraji P. Henson commented on the statement writing, “HORRIBLE JUST HORRIBLE. You need to shut down and get this together.”
“This is blatant racism. @sesameplace is where black kids are forever traumatized!!!! THEY ARE INNOCENT CHILDREN WHO BELIEVE IN THOSE CHARACTERS and you take their money.”
Taraji added, “The persons under those masks need to be dealt with if not THEN IT IS YOUR ENTIRE ORGANIZATION. NO STATEMENT CAN FIX THIS. ONLY SERIOUS ACTIONS PERIOD. WE ARE WATCHING !!!!!!! ???”
It may be time for Sesame Place to destroy and rebuild considering the fact that multiple videos surfaced online of their characters seemingly ignoring Black children.
The family who initially put Sesame Place on blast over the weekend has secured legal representation.
B’Ivory LaMarr is the attorney representing the family and she says they plan to investigate the incident, interview people who were in attendance, and evaluate the other videos that are popping up online that appear to show other Black children being discriminated against.
From there, they will determine if they will move forward with a lawsuit.
LaMarr said, “While we hate to rush to judgment to consider ‘race’ as the motivating factor to explain the performer’s actions, such actions both before and after the young girl’s request only lead to one conclusion.”
I will keep you posted on this situation.
Source: TMZ
