The power of the Internet is strong. Yesterday (July 17), a Black woman’s social media post went viral after she called out a Philadelphia Sesame Place character for ignoring her two Black daughters. The woman, who goes by Jodi on Instagram, posted a video of her daughters at a parade at Sesame Place. In the footage, the girls are beyond excited to see Rosita making her way toward them. As other kids and parents reach out for high-fives, they’re greeted with warmth by the fuzzy blue character. Rosita gets to the Black girls, gives a “No” hand signal and dances past them.
Since that footage was posted, Sesame Place released an official statement saying the character did not intentionally ignore the two Black girls. “The costumes our performers wear sometimes make it difficult to see at lower levels and sometimes our performers miss hug requests from guests,” their statement read in part. However, in newly surfaced videos, Rosita seemingly ignores multiple children of color as she entertains entertains other kids in her vicinity who appear to be white. It is unknown when the videos were taken.
In one video, a little Black boy sits with a couple, assumed to be his parents. As Rosita marches their way, she interacts with just about every arm that’s reaching out that isn’t brown or darker. As she gets to the small boy and the woman he’s with, both of whom have their arms extended, Rosita continues walking. “He wanted a dap. He wanted a high-five,” the man’s voice says from behind the camera.
“Everybody kids would’ve been sad like mine cuz [Rosita’s] head [would’ve] been knocked off onto the pavement,” one person wrote. “Gracie’s Corner would NEVER,” another commented. Others called for the person dressed as Rosita to be revealed. “At this point, we need to find out who tf behind that costume, cause that’s definitely the same person,” a user said.
At the time of this article, there has been no additional statement from Sesame Place regarding today’s newly surfaced videos.