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Man Sues Sesame Street Theme Park For $25M After His Daughter Was Snubbed By Telly Monster And Ernie
“Just looking at her face, it makes me want to cry every time I see it.”
Employees dressed as Sesame Street characters have continually been accused of ignoring black children. Many parents have voiced their displeasure online, while a few have threatened to sue. Of the latter, Quinton Burns has sued the theme park for $25million after a video showed his daughter, Kennedi, was snubbed by Telly Monster and Ernie.
The clip opened with the costumed characters dancing in a parade as the employees dressed as Telly Monster walked to wave and shake several children’s hands.
Among the kids on June 18 was Kennedi, who attempted reaching out to the character only for Telly Monster to walk away and wave his hand to other spectators. Kennedi then turned around to her father with a big frown on her face. Moments later, Ernie was seen greeting the same group but stopped short of shaking hands with Kennedi.
“Just looking at her face, it makes me want to cry every time I see it,” Burns said during a press conference.
His legal suit was filed in a federal court in Philadelphia against SeaWorld Parks, the owner of Sesame Place, for pervasive and appalling race discrimination while seeking class-action status. Before this, Sesame place had alleged snubbing wasn’t international and that the employees couldn’t see everyone due to the costume’s limited vision.
Burns’s actions come after a video had shown two other black girls being snubbed by Rosita during a parade at the park in Langhorne, outside Philadelphia.
The furor triggered more families to come forward with similar experiences. Amid the Press conference, one of the family’s attorneys, Malcolm Ruff, called for transparency from SeaWorld and for the company to compensate the Burns family. Ruff said: “She was ignored amongst a sea of other young white children who were able to interact, give hugs, high fives.”
“Kennedi was forced to experience racism at the age of 5. This is unacceptable, and we will not stand by and let this continue.”
Reportedly, members of the Congressional Black Caucus are asking for a meeting with leadership at a Sesame Street theme park after a video showed a costumed character waving off two black girls, 6, during a parade. They seek a meeting with the park’s general manager Cathy Valeriano to discuss the changes and plans of action.
The meeting will seek what training the park plans to implement.
However, Sesame Place responded to the lawsuit in a statement sent to Eyewitness News: “We will review the lawsuit filed on behalf of Mr. Burns. We look forward to addressing that claim through the established legal process. We are committed to deliver an inclusive, equitable, and entertaining experience for all our guests.”
The park confirmed the incident but said on Instagram that it was a misunderstanding.
