Philadelphia's popular children's theme park, Sesame Place, is at the center of a controversial lawsuit that has grabbed national headlines.

The lawsuit was brought forward by a Baltimore family that was visiting the park on June 18th. Leslie Mac was behind the camera recording her four-year-old daughter and her daughter’s friend as a parade of Sesame Street costumed characters walked by. Mac’s video appears to show the costumed character Rosita greeting white children but ignoring and motioning “no '' to the black children when the two girls reached out to greet the character.

Quinton Burns, the father of one of the two girls at the center of the controversy, accuses the park of racial discrimination because the costume characters intentionally disregarded the two little black girls, but not the white children that were just feet apart.

William Murphy, an attorney representing the Burns family, shared during a press conference, “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 who can’t fight back and who have to struggle to understand how ugly it is and how it must be eliminated from every aspect of American life.”

Along with being racially discriminatory, the lawsuit accuses the defendant of harboring a racial bias against people of color.

As a result of the alleged racial discrimination, the family is seeking $25 million in damages. Named in the suit are SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, along with the owner of Sesame Place Philadelphia. The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action certification, is likely to draw out other plaintiffs who have experienced similar acts of discrimination in the past. It's not yet clear how many plaintiffs may come forward.

News of the lawsuit has caused an uproar over the alleged racial discrimination, especially because the incident was caught on video and widely circulated online. Shortly after the video went viral, another video surfaced showing a compilation of videos where other costumed characters in the park ignored children of color but greeted white children.

Many throughout the nation are calling on boycotting Sesame Place, with a number of celebrities coming forward with harsh criticism of the theme park and the employee who was in the Rosita costume. The footage has even prompted some in the public to demand that the employee behind the costumed character be terminated.

Others have been critical of the lawsuit, calling it a frivolous complaint. Many in the entertainment industry who have worn similar costumes have defended that it can be difficult at times to have proper vision while wearing a costume and that there is the possibility the employee simply didn’t see the two girls. In its initial response, Sesame Place also contended that costumes can impact an employee's visibility and that the character Rosita may have had her visibility impaired. The park also defended that Rosita may have been gesturing no in response to another guest who was asking the character to hold their child for a photo — something that the park has a strict policy against.

Along with the exorbitant amount in damages, the lawsuit is seeking to have the defendants named in the suit implement required cultural sensitivity classes that educate employees about discrimination and its history.

Following the incident, Sesame Place released a statement that explained that both the park and its employees support “inclusivity and equality in all forms.” The park also defended that the character in question, Rosita, “did not intentionally ignore the girls and is devastated by the misunderstanding.”

In a second statement released following the news of the lawsuit, Sesame Place issued an apology to the girls and their families. The park added that they would be ”taking action to do better.”