Sarah Hyland: Father sues Sesame Street theme park for $25m, says ‘Racist’ Character ignored his daughter

Video that father suing Sesame Street theme park for $25 million claims shows ‘racist’ Telly Monster and Ernie ignoring his daughter

A Baltimore father is suing a Sesame Street theme park for $25 million after his daughters were allegedly snubbed by the costumed characters
Video of the incident shows the Telly Monster character greeting and waving to kids in the crowd, but moving past Kennedi Burns, 5, who reached out for him
Moments later, an employee dressed as Ernie was seen greeting the same group, but also stops just short of shaking hands with Kennedi
The family’s lawyer claimed the incident is not isolated and 25 to 30 other families have come forward with videos of similar incidents over the years
Sesame Place has explained that the workers simply can’t see everyone due to the costume’s limited field of vision

A new video shows the moment a Sesame Street theme park employee allegedly snubbed a five-year-old black girl as her father sues for $25 million.

Quinton Burns claims four employees dressed as Sesame Street characters ignored his daughter, Kennedi, and other black guests during a meet-and-greet on June 18.

The video opens with the costumed characters dancing in a parade as the employee dressed as the Telly Monster walked over to wave and shake the hands of several children.

Among the kids in the group was Kennedi, who tried reaching out to the character before he walked away and waved his hand to other spectators. Kennedi then turns around to her father with a big frown on her face.

Moments later, an employee dressed as Ernie was seen greeting the same group, but also stops just short of shaking hands with Kennedi.

Video shows Kennedi, 5, reaching for the character, who walked past her as he greeted other guests. The child then turns around to her father with a look that he says broke his heart

Sesame Place has explained that the alleged snubbing was not intentional and that the employees in these incidents simply can’t see everyone due to the costume’s limited field of vision.

‘Just looking at her face, it makes me want to cry every time I see it,’ Burns said during a press conference Wednesday.

The suit, which seeks class action status, was filed in a federal court in Philadelphia against SeaWorld Parks, the owner of the Sesame Place, for ‘pervasive and appalling race discrimination.’

It comes after a viral video showing two other black girls from New York apparently being snubbed by Rosita during a parade at the park in Langhorne, outside Philadelphia.

Sesame Place apologized in a statement for that incident and explained that the actor inside the Rosita suit simply couldn’t see their daughter due to the costume’s limited field of vison.

The furor triggered more families to come forward with similar experiences.

The lawsuit says ‘SeaWorld’s performers readily engaged with numerous similarly situated white customers.’

During a press conference held Wednesday, one of the family’s attorneys, Malcolm Ruff, called for transparency from SeaWorld and for the company to compensate the Burns family.

‘She was ignored amongst a sea of other young white children who were able to interact, give hugs, high fives,’ Ruff said.

‘Kennedi was forced to experience racism at the age of 5. This is unacceptable and we will not stand by and let this continue,’ Ruff continued.

Sesame Place responded to the lawsuit in a statement sent to Eyewitness News, saying: ‘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 suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania… More