The Black family whose children were snubbed by a Sesame Place character say new footage plows holes in the theme park’s original explanation for the humiliating incident.
Remember, in response to the first viral video …Sesame Place released a statement saying that her character Rosita “confirmed that the ‘no’ hand gesture seen repeatedly in the video was not directed at any specific person, but rather a response to multiple requests from someone in the crowd who asked Rosita to hold their child up for a photo which is not allowed.”
The potential problem for Sesame Place is that this new, wider angle – across the parade route – doesn’t support that…at least according to the attorney. B’Ivory LaMarr.
LaMarr represents the family of Jodi Brown — his daughter and niece are the girls who tried to interact with Rosita — and he believes the new video obtained by his law firm undermines the park’s claim.
He doesn’t see anyone offering a child to Rosita to hold…not near the girls, anyway. In fairness to Sesame Place, the video is shot across the street, so you can’t hear any potential conversation between the parents and anyone wearing Rosita’s costume.
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Additionally, LaMarr believes the new video shows Rosita’s rejection gesture was made. only to black girls.
If true, that would be significant because Sesame Place claimed, “Rosita’s interpreter did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated by the misunderstanding.”
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As we reported… other videos have surfaced of similar incidents in the park, and Sesame Place promises to tighten things up with bias training and a thorough review of how park employees interact with customers.
LaMarr says he was inundated with calls from others who were at the same Sesame Place parade as Jodi and the girls.
LaMarr says community activists, such as Tamika Malloryorganize events to galvanize those outraged by the viral video.
As for the Brown family, he says their end goals are to get whoever wore Rosita’s costume fired and get a sincere apology from Sesame Place…something they say hasn’t happened yet.
TMZ.com
Sesame Place tells TMZ … they are in contact with LaMarr and have offered to meet with him and his family to personally apologize and acknowledge that they hold themselves accountable for what happened. He also says, “We want to listen to them to understand the impact of the experience on their family and to understand what we can best do for them and all the guests who visit our parks.”
The park says the previously mentioned bias training is now mandatory for all employees — and it’s already engaged with nationally recognized experts to provide a more inclusive and equitable experience at the park.