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| KidZania children's show suspended after racism claims | KidZania children's show suspended after racism claims |
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| Performances of a children’s play at a London attraction have been suspended after a parent alleged that the portrayal of a black puppet was racist. | Performances of a children’s play at a London attraction have been suspended after a parent alleged that the portrayal of a black puppet was racist. |
| Pappi Ndelu, from Wandsworth, spoke of his shock when he took his family to KidZania, billed as a miniature city for children, only to see a black puppet being racially bullied. | Pappi Ndelu, from Wandsworth, spoke of his shock when he took his family to KidZania, billed as a miniature city for children, only to see a black puppet being racially bullied. |
| Ndelu said the trip to the entertainment centre on Saturday was for his eldest daughter Jada’s eighth birthday, who he said had joined in a show featuring a “friendly, white Caucasian-looking puppet” and a puppet called Shadow, which was covered in a black “hijab-looking” sheet. | Ndelu said the trip to the entertainment centre on Saturday was for his eldest daughter Jada’s eighth birthday, who he said had joined in a show featuring a “friendly, white Caucasian-looking puppet” and a puppet called Shadow, which was covered in a black “hijab-looking” sheet. |
| The white puppet taunted the black one and gave it a “makeover” before it reappeared in white, he told the Evening Standard. | The white puppet taunted the black one and gave it a “makeover” before it reappeared in white, he told the Evening Standard. |
| Ndelu added: “By using terms like ‘He’s black, ugly and scary’, it encourages racial bullying towards children. If they had told us what the context of the play was we would not have let our daughter take part. It reinforces a negative in young children against Muslim women who wear the hijab over their faces.” KidZania however contested this accusation. | |
| Ndelu said his daughter, who is mixed-race, was asked to play the part of Shadow. He said he watched the show with his other daughter, Vera, three, and his wife Charlotte, who he said found the experience shocking. | Ndelu said his daughter, who is mixed-race, was asked to play the part of Shadow. He said he watched the show with his other daughter, Vera, three, and his wife Charlotte, who he said found the experience shocking. |
| KidZania, at Westfield London in Shepherd’s Bush, confirmed it had temporarily suspended performances while its management investigated the complaint. A spokeswoman told the Guardian the entertainers took any complaint seriously. | KidZania, at Westfield London in Shepherd’s Bush, confirmed it had temporarily suspended performances while its management investigated the complaint. A spokeswoman told the Guardian the entertainers took any complaint seriously. |
| Ndelu, originally from Durban in South Africa, told the Evening Standard: “I’ve experienced something similar to this in South Africa, but not here. Both of my daughters were born in London. They have not experienced racism here and we didn’t want to open up the discussion of race with them at such a young age.” | Ndelu, originally from Durban in South Africa, told the Evening Standard: “I’ve experienced something similar to this in South Africa, but not here. Both of my daughters were born in London. They have not experienced racism here and we didn’t want to open up the discussion of race with them at such a young age.” |
| The permanent £20m KidZania installation, a 75,000 sq ft space “designed to empower kids” features role-playing activities in which children can dress up and play at being firefighters, pop stars and medics. | The permanent £20m KidZania installation, a 75,000 sq ft space “designed to empower kids” features role-playing activities in which children can dress up and play at being firefighters, pop stars and medics. |
| Ndelu said he complained to staff after the performance but they defended the production, saying the content was sent by the KidZania head office in Mexico. He said they had received other complaints. | Ndelu said he complained to staff after the performance but they defended the production, saying the content was sent by the KidZania head office in Mexico. He said they had received other complaints. |
| “Someone must have screened this and thought it was appropriate. KidZania is a place kids are educated about the world and how life works, so kids will think that this is normal,” Ndelu said. | “Someone must have screened this and thought it was appropriate. KidZania is a place kids are educated about the world and how life works, so kids will think that this is normal,” Ndelu said. |
| It is not the first time KidZania London, which opened in June, has been caught up in accusations of racism. A photograph of a lone black child in a pretend police cell at the attraction, published by Mail Online along with several others in an article about KidZania, led to one parent starting a petition against the newspaper in the summer. | |
| The parent wrote: “My first question to myself was when did going to prison become a profession? I was so disheartened as it became apparent to me that this was nothing but subliminal racist racial profiling.” | The parent wrote: “My first question to myself was when did going to prison become a profession? I was so disheartened as it became apparent to me that this was nothing but subliminal racist racial profiling.” |
| • This article was amended on 27 November 2015. An earlier version said incorrectly that the petition referred to was against KidZania. |