Family sues Sesame Place for racial discrimination, alleging characters ignored 5-year-old Black girl
The incident described in the lawsuit is separate from a video that went viral earlier this month, in which the Muppet Rosita appears to wave off two young Black girls.
A federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Philadelphia accusing Sesame Place and its parent company of allowing costumed characters to racially discriminate against Black children, citing an example from June similar to one captured in the recent viral video of a character at the park appearing to dismiss and ignore two Black girls.
The complaint alleges that Sesame Place characters ignored a 5-year-old Black girl during a “meet and greet” event. Quinton Burns of Baltimore and his 5-year-old daughter, Kennedi, appeared at a news conference in Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon to announce the lawsuit. Their lawyers said they’re seeking class-action status to include other families with similar experiences.
According to the complaint, Burns and his daughter went to Sesame Place on June 18 and during a “meet and greet” with characters — Elmo, Ernie, Telly Monster, and Abby Cadabby — the girl was ignored. Other Black children were also ignored, the complaint states, while the characters “readily engaged with” white visitors.
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Sesame Place and its parent company, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, breached their contract with Burns and his daughter when they sold them tickets but then discriminated against them, Baltimore civil rights lawyer Billy Murphy Jr. said.
The lawsuit seeks in excess of $25 million in damages and seeks a class certification for anyone who experienced similar conduct since July 27, 2018, which the lawyers say was the earliest date allowed under the statute of limitations.
Murphy, of the firm Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, said the girl was “devastated” by what she experienced and will need “professional help” in coping and understanding the situation.
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Burns spoke briefly at the news conference and said he, too, was hurt and devastated by what happened to his daughter.
On Wednesday night, the Baltimore lawyers released a 29-second video they said was from June 18 showing the girl reaching out twice for acknowledgment and appearing to be ignored by two performers — one dressed as Telly Monster and the other as Ernie — while other children who appear to be white get recognized and touched. The girl can be seen frowning after not being acknowledged by Telly Monster.
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Sesame Place said in an emailed statement: “We will review the lawsuit filed on behalf of Mr. Burns. We look forward to addressing that claim through the established legal process. We are committed to deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience for all our guests.”
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment owns and operates Sesame Place through a license with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit responsible for the TV show Sesame Street. Sesame Workshop is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Controversy erupted over alleged racism at Sesame Place earlier this month, with video posted online of an employee dressed as the turquoise Muppet Rosita appearing to refuse to high-five two 6-year-old Black girls during a parade. The video, recorded by Jodi Brown of New York, prompted calls to boycott Sesame Place and for an explanation from the company.
The nine-second clip shows the mascot waving at and high-fiving a few people and then apparently waving off the two girls, who had outstretched hands. Brown said that she was outraged by the experience her daughter and niece went through and hired a lawyer, B’Ivory LaMarr, to represent them. Brown has not filed a lawsuit against Sesame Place.
At a news conference last week in New York, Lamarr and activist Tamika Mallory of Until Freedom called for the firing of the employee wearing the turquoise costume.
» READ MORE: Black family snubbed at Sesame Place Philadelphia calls on park owners to turn incident into ‘teachable moment’
The following day, Sesame Place issued a third apology and said it had been in touch with Brown and LaMarr and was planning to meet to apologize in person and to listen to the family’s experience and work toward fixing the park for good.
That statement did not indicate whether the employee was facing termination or other discipline.