An investigation is underway after Goodmayes Library in London saw a man dressed as ‘Rainbow Dildo Butt Monkey’ appear at a kids’ event.
Parents were outraged when footage surfaced of an actor dressed as a multi-coloured monkey with fake genitalia appearing at a children’s event.
The footage of Mandiga Arts Group at the Redbridge Libraries Summer Reading Challenge event at Goodmayes Library saw three actors in bright outfits. However, one had accentuated butt cheeks and a fake penis. This led to many questioning the judgement of the event organisers.
Redbridge Conservative Councillor Anita Boateng has told LBC‘s Nick Ferrari that they found the decision of the library involved ‘absolutely bizarre’.
On the back of the strange incident, school governor Has Ahmed stated that ‘apparently this is meant to encourage kids in Redbridge to pick up reading for summer’ before asking about the rationale behind the ‘indecent costumes’.
This sentiment has been echoed by many others who were unsure of how the costumes were approved for an event designed for children. There were also wider discussions about the impact this would have on children.
Redbridge Libraries have now released a statement about what happened:
During an event put on at the library today there was a performance by a Carnival Arts Company.
Unfortunately one of the animal costumes was inappropriate which we were not aware of at the time of booking. We deeply apologise for the offence caused. This is being looked into and a further statement will be made.
The organisation did note that ‘this event was arranged by Vision and not Redbridge Council’ before adding that they stopped the event as soon as they realised what was happening. There was also a promise that such an incident would never happen again.