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A recording of a Sesame Place character shunning two children has gone viral on social media. On July 17, 2022, a mother took to Instagram and called out the show’s theme park for racism when one of the characters refused to high-five two Black children.
Since then, Destiny’s Child alum Kelly Rowland has also slammed the theme park.
Yesterday, Instagram user Jeezy, who operates under the handle @__jodiii__ posted a video from the Philadelphia theme park. In the video, the show’s character, Rosita, can be seen waving and high-fiving everyone gathered during the parade. However, upon reaching Jeezy's children, she is seen shaking her head, indicating a "no" and refusing to high-five them.
The woman added that the Sesame Place character had avoided contact with them and instead moved on to hug a white girl next to them. She also accused park authorities of not doing anything and said that she will not be visiting the theme park again.
Kelly Rowland responds to viral Sesame Place video, theme park issues official statement
The clip also caught Kelly Rowland's attention, who then called out Sesame Place for their employee’s behavior. In an Instagram story, the 41-year-old singer said:
“Had that been me… that whole parade would have been in flames. Like, 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.”
After the wildly popular celebrity called out the amusement park, Sesame Place issued a statement saying that the cartoon character did not intentionally refuse to interact with the children. In a statement on Instagram, they wrote that the negative hand gesture was in response to someone else in the crowd who had asked Rosita to hold their child for a photo.
Since that was against park policy, the character had denied their request and unintentionally ignored the girls in the process. The theme park also claimed that they got in touch with the family to apologize for their actions.
The children’s theme park and water park is located on the outskirts of Philadelphia in the Middletown Township and is open between 10 am to 8pm.
The site offers one day and two-day tickets which are priced at $34.99 and $54.99. Entrance is free for those who are 23 months and younger.
