LANGHORNE, Pa. – Video showing two little girls trying to meet a character at Pennsylvania theme park Sesame Place has sparked outrage on social media after a social media post said they were snubbed and the “Rosita” character went on to hug a white child beside them.
Instagram user _jodiii_ wrote: “I’m going to keep posting this, because this had me hot. We were on our way out of sesame place and the kids wanted to stop to see the characters. THIS DISGUSTING person blatantly told our kids NO then proceeded to hug the little white girl next to us! Then when I went to complain about it, they looking at me like I’m crazy. I asked the lady who the character was and I wanted to see a supervisor and she told me SHE DIDNT KNOW !! I will never step foot in @sesameplace ever again ! And please feel free to repost this. Actually run me my money back 😡🤬so mad I stopped the video but it got me so mad when he blatantly told them no.”
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Since that social media post and more than 350,000 views on it, Sesame Place Philadelphia shared a statement Monday addressing the “incident” citing the characters’ costumes and refuting the woman’s allegation that the children were intentionally ignored.
Here’s the full statement:
“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. We also are, and have always been, committed to making sure every family and every child has the best possible experience at our parks and we are incredibly disappointed when that does not happen. Regarding the incident yesterday, the costumes our performers wear sometimes make it difficult to see at lower levels and sometimes our performers miss hug requests from guests.
“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. We spoke to the family and extended our apologies and invited them back for a special meet-and-greet opportunity with our characters. 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.”
Some are outraged with the Sesame Place response.
Trae Tha Truth wrote on Instagram: “They Betta Know soon As I Get Passed This TraeDay Weekend,They Betta Know Im Pullin Up For These Kids To See Who Under this Costume…. He purposely Ignored These Babies , Just Pissed Me Off!!! @sesameplace”
shaunking wrote, “None of us believe this statement. You are going to have to try again.”
blvckbarbiedoll wrote, “Who did the PR for this??? Please fire them immediately. A college intern could have came up with a better response. Those babies were disappointed. If you didn’t want to hug why not give a hi 5 instead. I’m so disgusted.”
You can read more comments here on the statement posting.
Others allege in comments that other Black children were also snubbed by the same character and that it was part of a pattern shown in other videos from this summer. KPRC 2 reached out to Sesame Place Philadelphia for a response to those accusations. This is the message we received on Tuesday:
“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 to 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.”