Lawyer shares new video of controversial Sesame Place incident that sparked outrage
Lawyer shares new video of controversial Sesame Place incident that sparked outrage
New video shared by the family's attorney claims to show a new angle of the now-viral Sesame Street controversy. Meanwhile, the park released it's third apology on Thursday, saying they "sincerely and wholeheartedly apologize."
PHILADELPHIA - The attorney for the family in the middle of the alleged discrimination controversy at Sesame Place shared new video of the incident they believe supports their claims that two Black girls were intentionally snubbed by a character.
Jodi Brown posted a video last weekend showing her daughter Skylar Brown, 6, and her niece Nylah Brown, 6, being ignored by a Sesame Place character while children of other races were greeted.
The video has since been viewed more than 750,000 times on Instagram since Brown posted it on her personal page.
After the release of the video, celebrities and public figures began speaking out, calling for Sesame Place to address the video.
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The theme park issued an apology on Instagram, saying, "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, 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."
The apology was not well received, and more families began coming forward with allegations and videos alleging similar experiences at the park.
In a second apology, the theme park said it would conduct training for employees to deliver a more "inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience" to guests.
On Wednesday, Jodi and Nylah Brown were present at a press conference with their attorney B'Ivory Lamarr and activist Tamika Mallory of Until Freedom.
'We won't accept that': Family seen in viral Sesame Place video speaks out, accuses park of discrimination
A family from New York has accused Sesame Place of discrimination after a video showing a theme park character ignoring two 6-year-old girls went viral on social media. The family's attorney says other families have also contacted his office with similar videos and experiences at the park.
Lamarr said numerous families contacted his office and the office of Ben Crump with videos and details of similar discriminatory experiences at Sesame Place.
The new video was shared by Lamarr on Friday and appears to show no one near the children, then Rosita immediately greets a white child. The new video was shared less than 24-hours after the park issued a third apology in which the park called the incident "unacceptable" and said they "sincerely and wholeheartedly apologize."
Protesters plan to gather outside the amusement park on Saturday, while visitors on Friday said the viral incident left them feeling uneasy.
"My kid is going to enjoy whether these people don't want to interact with them," Shirley Bond said. " It's bothersome, but I'm still going to come."