Sesame Street’s Rosita is slammed as ‘racist’ after costumed employee is accused of deliberately ignoring two black girls at a parade: Pennsylvania theme park DENIES the claims and says the character was trying to avoid taking a picture with another guest

• Sesame Street was criticized as racist after a theme park actor in costume ‘blatantly’ ignored two black girls
• Video shows character Rosita gesturing ‘no’ towards the girls at Sesame Place
• Their mom says Rosita proceeded to hug a white girl after dismissing her kids
• The amusement park called the incident a misunderstanding
• The park said the actor was gesturing towards another guest seeking a photo op 

Sesame Street has been slammed as racist after video surfaced of a character actor in costume seemingly ignoring two young black girls wanting to say hello.

A mom, who goes by __jodiii__ on Instagram, said her daughters were ‘blatantly told no’ when they tried to confront Rosita, a bilingual Muppet character from Mexico, at the Sesame Place amusement park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

A nine-second clip of the encounter shows the two girls eagerly reaching out toward Rosita, who then visibly dismisses them as she walks by.

Their mom claims the actor then proceeded to ‘hug the little white girl next to us.’

Sesame Place, responding to the incident on Sunday, said the actor confirmed the dismissive hand gesture seen in the video was ‘not directed to any specific person’ and instead a response to a photo request from another guest.

The video was met with outrage online, including from famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump who said the actor’s ‘disgusting behavior’ was ‘absolutely heartbreaking.’

Sesame Street has been slammed as racist after video surfaced of a character actor seemingly ignoring two young black girls trying to say hello

The outraged mother posted the clip online after she allegedly tried to address the interaction with park staff.

‘I’m going to keep posting this, because this had me hot,’__jodiii__ wrote. 

‘We were on our way out of sesame place and the kids wanted to stop to see the characters. THIS DISGUSTING person blatantly told our kids NO then proceeded to hug the little white girl next to us! 

‘Then when I went to complain about it, they looking at me like I’m crazy. I asked the lady who the character was and I wanted to see a supervisor and she told me SHE DIDNT KNOW!! I will never step foot in @SesamePlace ever again! 

She encouraged her followers to repost the video, before adding: ‘Actually run me my money back.’

The mom said she was ‘so mad’ she stopped recording the video so soon, but attributed the abrupt stop to her anger.

‘So mad I stopped the video but it got me so mad when he blatantly told them no,’ she concluded.

__jodiii__ did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.

Video shows the girls reaching out for Rosita as the character makes her way through the Sesame Place amusement park in Philadelphia

Rosita is seen high-fiving another guest while the girls stick their hands out towards her

Rosita gestures ‘no’ towards the girls – a motion the park says was actually being made towards another guest

The outraged mother claims the actor then proceeded to ‘hug the little white girl next to us’ after having ignored her daughters

Sesame Place confirmed the incident occurred in a statement posted to Instagram on Saturday, but said it was a ‘misunderstanding.’

‘Our brand, our park and our employees stand for inclusivity and equality in all forms,’ the park said. ‘That is what Sesame Place is all about and we do not tolerate any behaviors in our parks that are contrary to that commitment.’

‘We also are, and always have been, committed to making sure every family and every child has the best possible experience at our parks and we are incredibly disappointed when that does not happen.’

The park said the actor portraying Rosita ‘did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated about the misunderstanding.’

The statement alleged Rosita was gesturing ‘no’ to another guest who had requested they hold hold their child for a photo, ‘which is not permitted.’

Furthermore, the park noted the costumes worn by performers ‘sometimes make it difficult to see at lower levels’ and that actors occasionally ‘miss hug requests from guests.’ 

Sesame Place confirmed the incident occurred in a statement posted to Instagram on Saturday, but said it was a ‘misunderstanding’

Sesame Place said they spoke with the family and have invited them back to the park for a ‘special meet-and-greet’ with the characters. 

‘We apologize to these guests for not delivering the experience they expected and we commit to do our best to earn their and all guests’ visit and support,’ the statement concluded.

However, the park’s statement was not taken kindly to online.

Singer Kelly Rowland, of Destiny’s Child, slammed the park, saying: ‘Those gorgeous girls will never forget that feeling! THEY ARE KIDS!!!!! You should be ASHAMED of yourselves for this pathetic statement!’ 

‘It CLEARLY shows he said no to someone else then proceed to say NO to the little girls opening their arms for a hug,’ model Gabriela Clesca Vallejo responded.

‘Stop lying we’re not stupid the video shows it all. These little girls will never forget this awful moment.’

Love & Hip Hop cast member Melissa Scott added: ‘This a BOLD FACE LIE! The character LITERALLY waived their hand above that little girl and said NO.’ 

The park’s statement was not taken kindly to online

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump even joined in the conversation, sharing the video on his own Twitter feed

‘RACI$T!! Take accountability!!!!!!!’ echoed rapper Yung Miami. ‘SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!?’

‘This is a horrible answer to our questions. Nope,’ rapper Jojo Simmons said. ‘But she saw the other kids she hugged next to them?’ 

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump even joined in the conversation, sharing the video on his own Twitter feed.

‘This is absolutely HEARTBREAKING!’ he wrote. ‘These two young Queens did NOT deserve to be blatantly singled out and ignored by this #SesameStreet character!’

‘@SesamePlace MUST address their staff’s disgusting behavior!’

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