A federal jury found that costumed players, dressed as Sesame characters near Philadelphia, did not discriminate against young Black patrons in widely shared video two years ago, court records showed on Thursday.
The Philadelphia panel sided with SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, voting unanimously that the defense’s Sesame Place Philadelphia, a children’s theme park in Burks County, did not discriminate against girls shown in videos that went viral in July 2022.
The verdict was reached on Wednesday and entered into court records on Thursday.
“We are pleased with the jury’s verdict and thank them for their service and attention,” SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment said in statement to NBC News on Friday. “The facts presented demonstrate that we treat our guests equally.”
Baltimore resident Quinton Burns took his child to the park on June 18 that year and were at a “Meet and Greet” event with players dressed as Elmo, Ernie, Telly Monster and Abby Cadabby, according to his federal suit.
The class action complaint claimed that costumed characters “intentionally refused to perform” or “engage” with that child — who is identified in the suit only as K.B. — and other Black guests while doing their act for white people.
“We want every guest at our park to feel welcomed and safe when they visit us and to be able to see and feel aspects of themselves in the experiences we create,” SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment said.
“We’re proud of the role we play in creating lasting memories — especially for our youngest guests. We are constantly learning and improving and we’re committed to using our parks to help build a more inclusive experience for our guests.”
The lawyers representing Burns could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday
