Black Family Files $25 Million Lawsuit Against Sesame Street Amusement Park for Alleged Discrimination

A Black family from Baltimore has filed a $25 million discrimination lawsuit against SeaWorld’s Sesame Street theme park Sesame Place over an alleged racist interaction, the Associated Press reports.

Quinton Burns alleges that four employees in Sesame Street costumes ignored him, his daughter Kennedi, and other Black guests during a meet-and-greet at the amusement park on June 18. The employees who are accused of ignoring Black guests have been named as defendants in the lawsuit, which alleges the company behind the park knew the performers held racial biases. 

The park, which is located in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, shared a statement last month addressing the allegations. “We sincerely apologize to the family for their experience in our park on Saturday; we know that it’s not ok,” a representative for the park told Complex. “We will conduct training for our employees so they better understand, recognize and deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience to our guests.”

Footage of  the alleged discrimination also surfaced online, which attorney B’Ivory Lamarr said appears to support claims that Black children were ignored by the characters. The clip in question shows a park employee dressed as character Rosita, who then gives high-fives to a few white patrons before seemingly ignoring two young Black girls and walking away. 

The park denied that the performer deliberately snubbed the girls, and said that a “no” hand gesture in the clip was not directed at anyone in particular. “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, adding, “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.”