Sesame Place Philadelphia, a theme park themed to “Sesame Street,” is facing backlash after video surfaced of a costumed character appearing to ignore two Black children during a parade.

​​​The video was posted on Instagram by @__jodiii__.  In the video, two young girls are seen reaching out to Rosita as the character walks along the parade route. After walking toward the girls, the character appears to make a “no” gesture before walking past the girls.

“We were on our way out of sesame place and the kids wanted to stop to see the characters,” she wrote in the caption. “THIS DISGUSTING person blatantly told our kids NO then proceeded to hug the little white girl next to us! Then when I went to complain about it, they looking at me like I’m crazy.”

The video sparked backlash as it was quickly shared on other social media platforms.

Sesame Place Philadelphia, which is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, released a statement on Instagram, saying the incident was a misunderstanding and that costumes “sometimes make it difficult to see at lower levels.” The park added that the “no” gesture the character used wasn’t directed at the girls.

“Regarding the incident yesterday…the performer portraying the Rosita character has confirmed that the ‘no’ hand gesture seen several times in the video was not directed to any specific person, rather it was a response to multiple requests from someone in the crowd who asked Rosita to hold their child for a photo, which is not permitted,” the statement read. “The Rosita performer did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated about the misunderstanding.”

Since the statement, more videos have surfaced of Sesame Place characters appearing to ignore other Black children while interacting with others.

Sesame Workshop, the organization behind Sesame Street, issued its own response to the video.

“Sesame Workshop is aware of the recent incident at Sesame Place Philadelphia, which we take very seriously. What these children experienced is unacceptable,” the statement read. “We have been in contact with Sesame Place, our licensed park partner, and they have assured us that they will conduct bias training and a thorough review of the ways in which they engage with families and guests.”

Spectrum News has reached out to SeaWorld but has not received a response.