A toddler's birthday was "ruined" after being dismissed by a muppet at a theme park this past weekend.
A theme park in the Philadelphia called Sesame Place has been trending after a video of Rosita (muppet) dismissing two Black girls went viral.
In a video posted by @_jodiii_ on Instagram, the toddlers are trying to reach out to Rosita with hopes to get a handshake/ hug, but the muppet shakes the head “no” before moving along.
Jodiii explained that what the children experienced was “disgusting”.
“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.”
The video made it to Twitter and got over 8 million views within two days.
#BabyPaige & her cute lil friends went to @SesamePlace this weekend to celebrate Paige's 4th birthday & this is how #SesamePlace treated these beautiful Black children. I'm HOT. pic.twitter.com/wATjpRzUF1
— Leslie Mac (@LeslieMac) July 17, 2022
Musician Kelly Rowland, who reposted the video on her Instagram stories, expressed how angry the video made her feel.
“Are you serious?! You’re not going to speak to my child? And did you see that baby’s face at the end? The little one with the pink on? She deserves an explanation!”
Sesame Place issued a statement, saying they are a brand that stands for “inclusivity” and “equality”.
They added that the “no” hand gesture seen several times on the video was not directed to any specific person but rather a response to multiple requests from someone who wanted their child to take a photo with Rosita, which is not allowed.
“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 Rosita performer did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated about the misunderstanding,” reads the statement.
Leslie Mac, who posted the video on Twitter, responded by saying the statement is a lie and that the family had not received any apology from Sesame Place as claimed.
THEY HAVE NOT INVITED THE KIDS BACK FOR ANYTHING. This statement is the first & only time the family heard about this offer & Sesame Place has cut off email communications. The entire statement is a lie. https://t.co/RrtJ4mJbwV
— Leslie Mac (@LeslieMac) July 18, 2022
People have posted more videos accusing Sesame Place of having a notorious history of ignoring Black kids.
So apparently the Sesame Place has a history of ignoring black kids... Here's a thread of the proof. pic.twitter.com/jblam47HHn
— My Hair Longer Than Yours... (@_TheShawn) July 18, 2022
Sesame Place then issued a second statement, admitting that what the family experienced on Saturday was not okay and would offer training to their employees.