A Sesame Street-themed amusement park is being sued for $25 million by a Baltimore family who says that many costumed characters neglected a 5-year-old Black girl at a meet-and-greet session last month.
The complaint was brought about by a video that went viral on social media and appeared to show two other Black girls being ignored by a costumed employee during a parade at a park outside of Philadelphia in Langhorne. After the video went viral earlier this month, Sesame Place apologized and pledged to provide better training for its staff.
The lawsuit claims that during the meet-and-greet on June 18, four employees dressed as Sesame Street characters ignored Quinton Burns, his daughter Kennedi Burns, and other Black guests.
According to the lawsuit, “SeaWorld’s performers readily engaged with numerous similarly situated white customers.”
On Wednesday, during a press conference, Malcolm Ruff, one of the family’s attorneys, demanded transparency from SeaWorld and compensation for the Burns family.
