After two of their children were ignored by one of the mascots at a children’s amusement park in Philadelphia, a black family denied an invitation to return.
This summer, Sesame Place was accused of being “racist” because one of the furry characters, Rosita, seemed to disregard the kids who were watching a parade.
The park’s administrators have now made an effort to atone by extending an invitation to the kids and their families to return. The park is the target of a $25 million lawsuit.
The family, however, turned down the invitation because they said the children, who were shown in the viral video, were still too “traumatised” by the furry failure.
After capturing Rosita seeming to ignore her daughter and niece as they reached out to say hello at the parade in July, a mother first blasted the role as racist.
The blue figure, who was added to Sesame Street to increase its diversity, was enthusiastically approached by the two young girls but was first spotted waving their finger at them before supposedly “embracing the little white girl” next to them.
The family still wanted a full explanation as to what happened to the person inside the suit playing the “Rosita” character, and if they are still employed at the park where they may “terrorise other children” in another character costume, according to the attorney for the Brown family who is leading the bold lawsuit.
Lamarr revealed to TMZ that a meeting had been scheduled between representatives from SeaWorld Entertainment and Rev. Jesse Jackson, along with the Browns, who were unable to enter and forced to spend hours waiting outside.
A follow-up meeting with the Brown family, SeaWorld executives, and the Rainbow Push Coalition, a human and civil rights group established by Rev. Jackson, took place earlier this week.
The family was given another opportunity to express their concerns and was welcomed back to the park.
Because they did not want the kids to “relive the anguish,” the Browns declined the offer.
According to their attorney, Lamarr, the family is unwavering in their pursuit of legal action against the theme park and will explore all of their options.
Since the event, Sesame Place has created a new set of procedures, including racial sensitivity training for its staff.
The park said that in addition to creating and putting into place an anti-bias education and training programme, they would also be incorporating a thorough racial equality evaluation.
All staff members will have undergone training to “address prejudice, promote inclusiveness, avoid discrimination, and make all visitors and workers feel secure and welcome,” according to the company, by the end of September 2022.
When DailyMail.com visited the theme park last month, it was clear that by excluding Rosita from meet and greets and the daily parade, the attraction had all but terminated Rosita.
According to employees, the Mexican multilingual Muppet has been removed after the incident, however DailyMail.com reported that she looked to be slowly but surely disappearing.
Since the incident in July, some buildings that featured the costume character’s face have allegedly stayed shuttered, according to personnel, who believe she has been “cancelled.”
Despite the busy summer season, Rosita’s Cocina restaurant has apparently been shuttered “for weeks.”
A staff employee said to DailyMail.com: “Rosita hasn’t been around much lately.
Since the racist claims, she has been fully removed from the procession.
No longer do any of the parade’s characters go down the street, and any meet and greets planned for her have been cancelled.
They don’t want anybody possibly making the same accusations, therefore that is why, according to the allegations.
Rosita has essentially been cancelled, and I don’t anticipate seeing her again anytime soon.
Another person remarked: “The Rosita restaurant has been shut down for a while.
Although there hasn’t been a concrete answer, staff members believe it may have something to do with the claims.
The meet and greets have also altered lately, although it could partly be due to the tension with certain other characters.
The TV show’s most recent season, which debuted on HBO Max in November of last year, still features the character.
Other staff employees said that not all of the characters, including Big Bird, participate in the procession and that the characters for meet and greets are rotated.
However, only Meet & Greets for specific characters are shown on the Sesame Place app, making it possible to find any events involving Rosita by actively searching for her name.
One of the few characters, Rosita, was left out of the daily parade, and staff employees said that as a result of the claims, the performers were now instructed to stay on the floats.
Other depictions of the character have been obscured by the theme park, with Big Bird and Rosita both being covered by a big purple building next to an eating area.
Additionally, it seemed that Sesame Street product retailers had either taken down things with the character or had fewer items on display.
Where the Rosita statues had formerly stood but were now vacant, an empty basked could be seen in one of the shops.
It is unclear whether the figure was just not a part of the primary 2022 branding prior to the incident since mugs and other products did not have her.
There were also t-shirts, plush toys, and numerous other merchandise for the other Sesame Street characters on display, but no shop had a Rosita area.
Sesame Place acknowledged a new “series of efforts,” but did not react to DailyMail.com’s requests for comment about Rosita’s dismissal.
All new hires will also go through the training, and interaction with internal and external stakeholders will be part of the evaluation.
Theme park management had previously described the now-viral incident as a “misunderstanding,” claiming that the mascot’s poor eyesight from the bulky mask of the outfit prevented it from seeing the girls.
“Our brand, our park, and our workers stand for inclusiveness and equality in all its manifestations,” they said.
“That is the core of Sesame Place, and we do not allow any actions in our parks that go counter to that commitment.”
“We also are, and always have been, dedicated to ensuring that every family and every child has the best experience at our parks, and we are extremely disappointed when that does not happen,” the statement continued.
We apologised to the family over the phone and invited them to return for a unique opportunity to meet and greet with our characters.
The unnamed actress who played Rosita, according to the park, “did not purposely neglect the girls and is heartbroken by the misunderstanding,” the actor claimed.
According to the statement, Rosita was indicating “no” to another visitor when they asked to hold their kid for a picture, which was “not authorised.”
The park said that the mascot’s poor eyesight from the bulky mask of the costume, which may “sometimes make it difficult to see at lower levels,” likely prevented him from seeing the girls, and that performers sometimes “skip hug requests from customers.”
The actor couldn’t see for “bogus” reasons, according to attorney Lamarr, who added that “this is not about money.”
They are urging the corporation to fire the performer, claiming that this is the only “action” that is “appropriate” to take.
Lamarr added that throughout the years, he has been provided with proof of such instances at the Sesame Street-themed amusement park from 25 to 30 other black families.
Skylar, 6, has been forced to stay with her grandmother as a result of the event, which caused her mother Jodi Brown significant pain, according to Jodi Brown, the mother who recorded the incident.
Since Brown, who was accompanying her 6-year-old daughter Skylar and 6-year-old niece Nylah to the theme park, shared the footage over the weekend, the theme park has apologised for the incident.
In order to assist the two daughters deal with the apparent rejection, the family is reportedly looking into getting them both counselling.
Last month, Sesame Workshop made another statement on its social media platforms, being cautious to note that Sesame Place is a licenced partner.
“What these kids went through is intolerable,” they wrote.
We spoke with Sesame Place, our licenced park partner, and they informed us that they would do bias training and a careful examination of their interactions with visitors and families.
“We will keep working with our long-term partner Sesame Place to make sure that the proper steps are taken and that events like this do not occur in the future,” the statement reads.