PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The attorney representing the family of two young Black girls who were seemingly waved off by a Sesame Place character is calling for the costumed performer to be fired, but he hopes this entire situation has a happy ending.
Jodi Brown, the mother of one of the 6-year-old cousins, shared video posted on Instagram that shows a costumed character playing “Rosita” at Sesame Place in Langhorne, Bucks County seemingly blow off the two girls on Saturday.
The video went viral, with nearly 800,000 views as of late Wednesday night.
"I know our Black girls are magic. But I didn't know that they were invisible,” said attorney B’Ivory LaMarr, who is now representing the family and investigating the claims made following the video.
LaMarr told KYW Newsradio he saw the video of the Sesame Place character before he was referred to represent the family.
"My immediate thoughts were, ‘This can't be real,'” he said. “I mean, Sesame Street, Sesame Place had always been known as a safe zone, a place for fun."
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LaMarr demanded the firing of the performer who played "Rosita" during this incident. He added that he wants to see an authentic apology from the park, and for them to foot any bills for mental health and other care the girls may need.
The video shows the cousins named Skylar and Nylah waiting for “Rosita.” One girl appeared to ask the character for a high five, and her cousin who apparently wanted a hug.
The footage shows the performer first high-fiving another child and adult, then shaking their head "no" at the two girls before walking past them.
LaMarr calls the incident "utterly disgusting and unacceptable."
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"This is not a time to just stand by and become passive while our children are being punished. We can not and will not allow our children to leave a park feeling empty, when they should leave feeling empowered,” he added.
"Today is a day of accountability and a day of reflection as to what we tolerate in our society."
He claims he has more footage that has not yet been released that shows a different perspective after the viral video stops playing.
"An incident like this should not have to go viral for the harms to be properly addressed by corporations in this country,” he said.
LaMarr also told KYW Newsradio that he is calling on social justice organizations to come up with guidelines for Sesame Place to follow so that something like this can’t happen again.
"We need to be like kids and not see color. We're just here to have a good time. We're just here to enjoy life. That's what Sesame Street was initially all about,” he said. “That's what we need to get back to and it needs to be demonstrated through their characters."
Sesame Place originally released a statement, saying the performer did not intentionally snub the girls. They cited "limited range of vision" in the costumes.
The theme park issued a second statement Monday, saying they "sincerely apologize" to the family and are planning to conduct training for their employees, to "better understand, recognize, and deliver an inclusive, equitable, and entertaining experience to our guests."