Sesame Place Lawsuit: Why The Theme Park Is Being Sued For $25M

Philadelphia theme park Sesame Place is facing a $25 million federal lawsuit after it was accused of “pervasive and appalling” discrimination. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, which owns Sesame Place Philadelphia, is named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is seeking class-action status and was filed by the child’s father, Quinton Burns, after he took the child to a Sesame Place Philadelphia “Meet and Greet” on June 18. Burns claims the characters of the theme park “intentionally” refused to interact with his child and also ignored other Black people while engaging with white attendees, NBC News reported.

Burns, who is from Baltimore, claims in his suit that Sesame Place characters “Elmo,” “Ernie,” “Telly Monster,” and “Abby Cadabby” refused to engage with his family by “ignoring them and all other Black guests in attendance,” CNN reported.

The suit goes on to name the employees that had dressed like the "Sesame Street" characters and claims that “SeaWorld had actual knowledge that John Does 1-4 held personal beliefs of racial bias towards Black people and that John Does 1-4 had the propensity to discriminate against Black people based on their race or color,” CNN said.

In a press conference on Wednesday, one of the family’s lawyers, William Murphy, said, as reported by WCAU, an NBC affiliate out of Philadelphia, “Racism is horrible when it’s perpetrated against adults, but it’s in a separate category altogether of horror when it’s perpetrated against kids.”

The family’s attorneys said a video of the alleged incident is slated to be released in the coming days, as reported by ABC News.

The plaintiffs in the suit are seeking $25 million in damages and are asking for the park to undergo mandatory cultural sensitivity training, classes on the history of discrimination, and issue an apology to Black Americans, according to CNN.

In a statement obtained by NBC News, Sesame Place Philadelphia said it would respond to the claim through the “established legal process,” adding that it was “committed to deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience for all our guests.”

The lawsuit follows a seperate incident of alleged racial discrimination at Sesame Place. A video of the dressed-up character “Rosita” appearing to ignore two young Black children while at the park went viral earlier this month after it was posted by the children's mother.

Sesame Place Philadelphia soon after issued an apology to the family. The park also said it was implementing mandatory bias training, ABC News said.