Sesame Place is trending on Twitter after an outraged Black mother took to social media to blast the Philadelphia location on Sunday (July 17). The mother, identified as Jodi on Instagram, uploaded a video of the character, Rosita, saying no to her two daughters, who excitedly reached out for a high-five. Before avoiding contact with the girls, Rosita can be seen high-fiving two other children and a white woman. Jodi claims Rosita went on to high-five “the little white girl next to us” in her rant.
She 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!” The riled mother said she unsuccessfully attempted to file a complaint with management. Jodi’s post continued, “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.”
Social media users were equally outraged by the footage and argued that race played a factor in this incident. One user tweeted, “I use to work at Sesame Place and the people there were just racially insensitive and only liked me because *Token friend *I’m mixed so I was the ‘safest’ option An awful place and wouldn’t put it past anyone who works here to do this.”
The theme park released a statement claiming Rosita’s “no” gesture 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.” But supporters on social media weren’t buying this excuse. Another person tweeted, “The look of hurt on those innocent faces when that Sesame Place character ignored those two girls. Racism starts early and the world is constantly reminding you that you’re less than. I really hope that this will not weaken their self esteem. They need to be loved on.”
Kelly Rowland even shared her take on the matter. She posted a video on her Instagram Story saying, “Okay, so, had that been me? That whole parade would have been in flames. Like, are you serious? You’re not gonna 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. Hello!” Other families began sharing footage of similar experiences at Sesame Place. Check out what Black Twitter had to say about the ordeal: