Newly released footage sheds more light on the Sesame Place controversy.
Earlier this month, Jodi Brown shared a video in which her daughter and niece were seemingly ignored by a park employee dressed as the character Rosita. The clip shows the actor walking in a parade, while giving high-fives to a few white patrons. The worker then approaches Brown’s daughter and niece, who are both Black, and seemingly snubs them. The girls appeared to be both confused and disappointed as the Rosita actor walked away.
The viral video sparked outrage and allegations of discrimination. Sesame Place apologized for the incident, and insisted the actor didn’t intentionally ignore the girls—though the video shows the snub.
“The performer portraying the Rosita character has confirmed that the ‘no’ hand gesture seen several times in the video was not directed to any specific person,” the park wrote in a statement, “rather it 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.”
However, the lawyer representing the Brown family says newly the obtained video contradicts the park’s explanation. The footage captured the moment from across the street at a much wider angle. Attorney B’Ivory Lamarr says the video appears to show no one near the Black children, who were apparently the only ones who were waved off by the Rosita actor.
Protestors will reportedly gather outside the park on Saturday. The Brown family is demanding Sesame Park to issue an sincere apology as well as terminate the employee in the Rosita costume.
