SESAME STREET

Family Files $25 Million Lawsuit Against Sesame Street Theme Park For Discrimination

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Earlier this month, a video of a Sesame Place employee went viral as the employee, dressed as the character Rosita, gave members of the parade audience high fives and ignored two Black girls and walked away. This prompted other people to come forward and share videos of alleged discrimination they faced at Sesame Place.

Now, a Baltimore family is suing Sesame Place for $25 million over claims of racial discrimination.

The family is accusing four employees dressed as Sesame Street characters of ignoring Quinton Burns, his daughter Kennedi Burns, and other Black guests at a meet and greet that took place on June 18. The lawsuit states that “SeaWorld’s performers readily engaged with numerous similarly situated white customers.”

“Kennedi was forced to experience racism at the age of five; this is unacceptable and we will not stand by and let this continue,” said the family’s attorney, Malcolm Ruff, at an news conference in Philadelphia.

The family is looking for $25 million in damages from SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment – which owns Sesame Place. The lawsuit is said to be on behalf of all Black people that have visited the park since July 27, 2018, and suffered discrimination and racism from employees.

As for the family who posted the original video of the racism taking place at the Sesame Place theme park, they too are suing the park for discrimination. After the video went viral, the park commented saying that the employee did not snub the two Black children, but was saying no to other parents that wanted their child to take a picture with the character. However, another video surfaced, showing that there were no other parents around the two kids, and that the employee then hugged two white children that were standing next to the Black kids.

The post Family Files $25 Million Lawsuit Against Sesame Street Theme Park For Discrimination appeared first on The Source.

A Sesame Street Meme Name-Checking Chingy, Of All People, Got A Beauty Executive Fired

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John Demsey, a senior executive at makeup company Estée Lauder, was fired today over posting an “offensive” meme that somehow combined COVID-19 mockery with Sesame Street characters and, of all people, St. Louisan rapper Chingy, according to The Wall Street Journal and CNN Business.

Demsey, whose former title of executive group president oversaw brands under the Estée Lauder umbrella including Clinique and Mac, had posted the meme to Instagram, where he generally shares memes and brand-related advertising. The meme in question featured a spoof Little Golden Book cover with Big Bird visiting an apparently sick Snuffleupagus with a surgical mask on under the caption, “My n**** Snuffy done got the ‘rona at a Chingy concert.”

Apparently, not everyone found it as amusing as he did, prompting him to take down the meme, replacing it with an apology. “I am terribly sorry and deeply ashamed that I hurt so many people when I made the horrible mistake of carelessly reposting a racist meme without reading it beforehand,” it read. “There are not enough words to express me remorse and sorrow.Not only did I hurt many people whom I respect, the terrible mistake that I made has undermined everything I have been working for since I began my career 31 years ago. The meme is the furthest thing from what I stand for and I should have never reposted it. I am so sorry that I let down the company that I have dedicated my life’s work to as well as its employees, artists, friends and colleagues. I hope that in time people will judge me, not for this awful mistake, but for my lifetime of words and actions, which demonstrate my respect for all people.”

Hey look, I can only speak for myself, but I didn’t read that as racist. Maybe a 60-year-old white guy shouldn’t have shared it, but it’s pretty funny. A lot of folks on Twitter seem to agree, as Chingy has suddenly found himself trending for the first time since maybe “Dem Jeans” came out in 2006. Let’s take a look at the reactions, shall we?

Apparently, the meme itself originated over on Reddit and Demsey was amused enough to share it without considering the whole “n-word” angle. There’s also this tweet, which, like all tweets, is suspect, but relevant. Also, Chingy concerts/tickets seem to be a recurring theme in the account’s meme-making.

Sorry to that man. Something tells me he’ll be fine, but as long as we’re on the subject, Chingy was actually a pretty good rapper and deserved better. I’ll die on this hill. Drop something while your name is hot, Ching-A-Ling, I will support you, even if the streets say you look like a youth pastor/substitute teacher now. Between this and the whole Rocco fiasco a few months ago, it seems like Sesame Street has gone viral for a lot of strange — but hilarious — reasons.

Yes, Lawd! Anderson .Paak Sings, Dances, And Drums With Elmo And Cookie Monster On ‘Sesame Street’

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You gotta give it up to Sesame Street and the stellar slate of musical guests that have already appeared in the show’s 52nd season. The lineup of artists once again looks like it was picked by a team of people who clearly have their finger on the pop culture pulse. First, it was Billie Eilish and her ode to the Number 2 (the actual number, not… you know) with the Count. Then it was Kacey Musgraves‘ bouncy disco-pop tune about colors. And now in the latest episode, the multi-talented Anderson .Paak joined Elmo and Cookie Monster to sing about the many Holidays we all celebrated (in case you didn’t know, holiday starts with the letter “H.”)

.Paak began by walking down the step of the timeless Sesame Street stoop with flannel pants, a cardigan sweater, a newsboy cap, and an ear-to-ear smile that never leaves his face. He’s quickly joined by Elmo and Cookie Monster as .Paak leads the trio through a laundry list of notable holidays, paying homage to all denominations in the process. Among them they nod to M.L.K. Day, Indigenous People’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Hannuakah, Ramadan, Diwali, Passover, Dia de Los Muertos, and Cookie Monster’s personal favorite, Christmas. “Ooh that makes me jolly!” he says while taking a bite out of a cookie shaped like a Christmas tree.

Paak closes out the song on the drums, and the best moment in the clip comes when he and Elmo prank Cookie Monster. “The world is out of cookies!” .Paak says to a noticeably distressed Cookie Monster. “No I’m serious! Ain’t no more cookies in the world, fam!” before Paak and Elmo shout in unison: “APRIL FOOLS.”

Nice work, Sesame Street. Nice work.

Watch Anderson Paak’s appearance on Sesame Street above.

Billie Eilish, Kacey Musgraves, And Anderson .Paak Are All Guesting On ‘Sesame Street’

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Elmo and his Sesame Street cohorts have welcomed a bunch of guests onto the program over the years, and as the show gets ready to enter its 52nd season, more new friends have been announced. The music world is well-represented in the upcoming season, as a recently shared trailer shows a clip featuring Jon Batiste singing with Elmo and a character who appears to be a garbage collector. We also get a glimpse of Kacey Musgraves sharing smiles with Elmo, Big Bird, and a handful of other characters.

Furthermore, USA Today reports that the 35-episode season will also feature Billie Eilish and Anderson .Paak. Eilish will appear alongside The Count, while .Paak is set to perform a song for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day episode. The new season starts streaming on HBO Max on November 11 before coming to PBS Kids in the fall of 2022.

Musgraves has forged a strong connection with the world of Sesame Street over the past year or so. Back in May 2020, she guested on The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo to sing “Rubbie Ducky” alongside the red-furred host. Then, earlier this year, she was the face of a new line of Sesame Street clothes from Moschino.

Watch the Sesame Street trailer above.