“Had that been me, that whole parade would’ve been in flames.”
Kelly Rowland isn’t pleased with a Sesame Street theme park after a character seemingly ignored two young Black girls during a parade.
Arturo Holmes / Getty Images for Disney Dreamers Academy
Over the weekend, a video posted by @__jodiii__ went viral where Sesame Street character Rosita can be seen greeting children during the event — and then shaking her hand to say “no” to the two little Black girls before walking away.
“THIS DISGUSTING person blatantly told our kids NO then proceeded to hug the little white girl next to us!” the woman captioned the video.
She added that when she went to complain about the interaction, she was looked at like she was “crazy” and a supervisor told her that they “didn’t know” which employee was inside the costume at the time.
After watching the video, which has racked up over 400,000 views so far, Kelly shared it to her Instagram story with her own commentary.
Amy Sussman / Getty Images
“OH HELL NAWWW!!” Kelly captioned the video, adding, “TF! This just made me so mad!”
In her own video, Kelly said that if it had been her, “that whole parade would’ve been in flames.”
“Are you serious?! You’re not going to speak to my child? And did you see that baby’s face at the end? The little one with the pink on? She deserves an explanation!” Kelly said.
Johnny Nunez / WireImage / Getty Images
Since the viral video was shared, Sesame Place has issued an apology, explaining that it was not the employee’s intention to ignore the little girls and that the costumes “sometimes make it difficult to see at lower levels.”
The company added that the “no” hand gesture was not directed at the little girls but was instead towards the crowd, where there had been a guest repeatedly asking the character to hold their child — which is not allowed.
Jaysonphotography / Getty Images
They added, “The Rosita performer did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated about the misunderstanding.”
The family from the viral video have also been invited back to the park, where they will be treated to a meet and greet with the Sesame Street characters.
The company additionally apologized to the family for “not delivering the experience they expected,” adding that they “stand for inclusivity and equality in all forms” and do not “tolerate any behaviors in our parks that are contrary to that commitment.”
The family, as well as Kelly, have not issued a public response to Sesame Place.
