‘PERVASIVE AND APPALLING’

$25M Lawsuit Against Sesame Place Alleges Rampant Racial Discrimination

One Baltimore dad said his daughter was ignored “among a sea of white children.”

A law firm on Wednesday filed a class action civil lawsuit against the parent company behind Sesame Place Philadelphia, alleging its character performers exhibited “pervasive and appalling race discrimination” against Black guests. An attorney who filed the suit on behalf of Baltimore man Quinton Burns and his 5-year-old daughter said the girl and other Black people were ignored as “a sea of white children” were catered to by performers during a meet-and-greet. The child, lawyer Malcolm Ruff added, “was forced to experience racism at the age of 5.” The lawsuit alleges that the four employees named as defendants in the suit “held personal beliefs of racial bias towards Black people” and that parent company SeaWorld “was previously aware” of those biases. The suit, which seeks $25 million in damages, comes just days after a video appearing to show the character “Rosita” snubbing two young Black girls went viral and sparked outrage. The family in the video was unaware of Burns’ lawsuit before its filing, a spokesperson told CNN.