A $25 million racial discrimination lawsuit against Sesame Place has been dismissed. A federal jury in Philadelphia unanimously ruled on Wednesday that SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, the owner of the Pennsylvania theme park, was not liable for any wrongdoing.
The lawsuit stemmed from a viral video that surfaced in July 2022, showing a character performer seemingly ignoring two young Black children during parades and meet-and-greets, as reported by the New York Post.
The video that sparked outrage on social media appeared to show two young girls being ignored by the Rosita character from Sesame Street as they reached out for a high-five.
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The character actor was seen shaking their head in a “no” gesture while passing the two girls.
The New York family’s lawyer, B’Ivory LaMarr, sought coverage from SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment for the girls’ mental health expenses, citing “severe emotional distress” from the incident. Following the initial video, LaMarr received reports from 150 families alleging similar experiences with park performers.
In response to the backlash, Sesame Place quickly issued a statement addressing the incident.
“The Rosita performer did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated about the misunderstanding,” the theme park wrote.
“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.”
In response to the incidents, Sesame Place announced that all staff would undergo bias training and review their practices for potential improvements.
Following the initial video’s attention, more families came forward with similar claims against the park.
A second video surfaced, showing a 5-year-old Black girl appearing to be snubbed by multiple park employees dressed as characters.
Quinton Burns, the girl’s father, filed a $25 million class-action lawsuit against SeaWorld Parks, the owner of Sesame Place, for “pervasive and appalling race discrimination” after alleging that his daughter, Kennedi, was ignored by four characters during a June 18, 2022, event at the Pennsylvania park due to her race.
The lawsuit, represented by the Baltimore-based law firm Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, claimed that performers readily engaged with white customers while ignoring Kennedi.
The family from the initial video involving two girls being ignored by Rosita is not a plaintiff in this class-action suit.
After being found not liable on Wednesday, Sesame Place issued a statement expressing gratitude to the jury for their verdict.
“The facts presented demonstrate that we treat our guests equally. We want every guest at our park to feel welcomed and safe when they visit us and to be able to see and feel aspects of themselves in the experiences we create,” a spokesperson for the park told NBC 10.
“We’re proud of the role we play in creating lasting memories – especially for our youngest guests. We are constantly learning and improving and we’re committed to using our parks to help build a more inclusive experience for our guests.”
