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Outrage After "Sesame Place" Character Accused of Ignoring Black Girls; Angry Parents Demand Action, Accountability from School Board; Shares of Embattled Netflix Down 68 Percent as Subscriptions Plummet. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 19, 2022 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Our brand, our part and our employees stand for inclusivity and equality in all forms. That is what Sesame Place is about and we do not tolerate any behaviors in our parts that are contrary to that commitment.

And they offered this saying it was a misunderstanding that they talked to the performer who was sorry about this. Felt bad about it. They said that they were actually saying no to a person who was asking for a photo op by holding a child, which the park does not allow. They also said, you know, it's possible because of the costume they didn't see these two little girls. So, again, this went viral. They offered up a second apology to the family in another statement. But as we know, this family has now hired an attorney, and they're not putting this to rest.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: All right, Brynn Gingras, thank you.

I'm joined now by Jodi Brown, the mother and aunt of those little girls you see there in the video, and her lawyer, B'Ivory LaMarr. Thank you for being with us. Brynn walked us right up until the moment of that denial from the character. Tell us what happened and when that moment happened, what went through your mind?

JODI BROWN, DAUGHTER AND NIECE IGNORED BY CHARACTER AT SESAME PLACE: One, I couldn't believe that it happened. It's a child's theme park. The kids are supposed to be, you know, happy and, you know, acknowledged and greeted and having a good time. So, the fact that this even happened, that fact that this was even going to be a core memory for them, when it comes to Sesame Place is actually disgusting and unbelievable to me.

I of course didn't expect that to happen as I'm recording. I'm just trying to get their reactions so that everyone can see they're so excited. So, to see the family next to me be acknowledged and to have them be ignored and then the family right next to us be acknowledged, at that point I have already stopped the video. It was heartbreaking. And in the video, you can also see how sad the children are.

BLACKWELL: Yes, you say that -- and we've talked around it. I want to be explicit here, you believe that whomever is in that costume did not high five your daughter and niece, didn't hug Skyler and Nyla because they're little black girls.

BROWN: Yes, because as you can see, now that I spoke up and released my video, now there's multiple parents who have similar videos with that character doing the same thing to the same race of children. So, for me, that's not a coincidence at all. It's absolutely disgusting, and I do feel like the organization honestly really and truly needs to accept accountability.

BLACKWELL: Jodi, you see they're crest fallen and disappointed after the Rosita character walks by. Did they say anything to you about that moment?

BROWN: The character itself?

BLACKWELL: No, the girls.

BROWN: The girls, oh, in that moment they're just, you know, sad, like how come he didn't give me a high five. What did we do. As you can see, my niece is still reaching out for him. So, in that moment, you know, you want to console the children and tell them, like, it's OK. Like you didn't do anything wrong. Some people are not just good people. For every bad person, there's going to be a hundred more good people, and love is always going to, you know, outweigh hate. But I shouldn't have these conversations with two 6-year-old children. That's ridiculous.

BLACKWELL: Jodi, let me turn to your attorney now. B'Ivory LaMarr. First, there is an attorney as part of this conversation. Are you planning to file suit, Bee Ivory?

B'IVORY LAMARR, JODI BROWN FAMILY ATTORNEY: You know, that is on the table. We would, you know, hopefully Sesame work on resolving this matter short of litigation. I mean, the family is very clear what their expectations. They want a formal apology. They want the individual to be terminated. And thirdly, you know, this mental anguish that has been perpetuated upon these young 6-year-old girls is something that should be addressed also by the theme park.

They went to this park on Saturday with the expectation of having a good time, enjoying themselves. They were very fond of those Sesame Park characters and to leave out that park, heartbroken. With their hearts are shattered, something that this theme park should take responsibility for. It has been echoed across this country from families that have been contacting my office. The phone is ringing off the hook with other families with videos showing similar outrageous egregious conduct that this theme park has put upon these families. This is absurd and this theme park needs to take accountability immediately.

BLACKWELL: Jodi, has the park reached out to you? We read their statements. Have you heard from Sesame Place?

BROWN: When I first posted the picture the following day, they sent me a message to call to speak to a manager. She was supposed to call me back, and I haven't received a phone call back since the whole situation went viral. [15:35:00]

BLACKWELL: And what do you make of their explanation that the person in the suit was not responding to the girls. They were responding to someone in the crowd who wanted them to hold a baby and that's against the policy of the park.

BROWN: In the video, you can clearly see the character looking at the children and saying no. I think that was just an excuse. Damage control. Because of the severity of the way you see the video was going. You can clearly see in the video that he looked directly at the children and said no. So, I feel like that was an excuse, and instead of taking accountability, they were trying to, you know, sweep the situation under the rug.

Well, Jodi brown, B'Ivory LaMarr. Thank you for spending a couple of minutes with us. We've seen this video. I can't tell you how many times I watched those nine seconds of Skyler and Nyla. And I think you for giving the story around it. Keep in touch and let us know what happens next.

LAMARR: We'll do. Thank you.

BROWN: Thank you.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Yes, it's hard to watch that video.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I mean, 6-year-old girls denied -- do people wonder why this matters. I think she really encapsulated there why this matters, that these little girls shouldn't have that as a memory. And their value in the moment, when you see the person next to them, the little white girl here, the little white girl there gets a high five or a hug, and you wave them off. This sticks with children.

CAMEROTA: Oh, I see the confusion on their face. That will stick with us as well.

So meanwhile, Uvalde family members confronted school board members last night demanding accountability for the mass shooting. And changes heading into the new school year, the attorney for those families is next.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: It's been less than two months since 19 4th graders and two teachers were killed in Uvalde, Texas. But now the school board has to figure out how to bring students back into the classroom safely this fall.

BLACKWELL: Last night parents of victims and survivors confronted those elected officials about how they can guarantee their kids' future safety, especially since they still don't have answers about why a back door was unlocked and allowed the gunman to access a 4th grade classroom so easily. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAL HARRELL, SUPERINTENDENT, UVALDE CONSOLIDATED ISD: The expectation is those doors to be locked, absolutely is.

BRETT CROSS, FATHER OF SHOOTING VICTIM: You all knew they that didn't.

HARRELL: I was not aware that that lock was not working.

CROSS: OK. So then -- you're the superintendent. You're top dog, correct?

HARRELL: Yes.

CROSS: So, you should know what's going on in your schools.

HARRELL: Correct.

CROSS: Why don't you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you check your doors at night and make sure that your doors are locked, I'm pretty sure you make sure you're secure at your home, don't you?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Mark Di Carlo is an attorney representing 15 families in Uvalde. Mark, thanks for coming back. Listen, we've learned that the school district will make some enhancements, some changes. New fencing, locks in doors. Upgrading those, access points as well. We've got the list on the screen. Hiring additional officers and personnel. What is it that the families you represent need to be able to send their kids back into this school district?

MARK DI CARLO, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING 15 UVALDE FAMILIES: Well, obviously the main problem was the door lock. Because the -- despite, you know, obvious negligence and malfeasance and misfeasance on the part of the officers, the children were tragically killed very quickly at initial gun burst, which we believe was caused by that hell fire trigger system. Which was kind of covered up, we believed in that interim report of the investigative committee on the Robb Elementary shooting. But there's nothing that we could do about that. And obviously there's nothing we could do about the firearms being sold. But we would think that the security of the exterior of the building would be primary as you stated in fencing and in the door locks, and the door locks of the school rooms, yes.

CAMEROTA: Mark, I want to ask you about the weapons because you talk about that hell fire system which would turn the semiautomatic I believe into an automatic. When we hear -- we heard in these surveillance video that sickening barrage of gunfire that was so rapid and so you think something's being covered up with that. And second question, why can't you do anything about the weapons that were sold? I mean, this -- before he turned 18, this shooter bought between, you know, 30 round mag -- 60 30-round magazines, that hell fire snap on trigger system, and right when he turned 18, he bought those, you know, AR-15 style weapons. And just I'm wondering if you do have any questions about the gun store that sold them?

DI CARLO: While obviously, and that was partly covered. You know, the purchase of the firearm, the ATF immediately said, oh, it was a legal purchase. But you can't determine if it's a legal purchase unless you look at that ATF form 4473 and other supporting documents. Obviously, that was another discrepancy in the investigative committee on the Robb Elementary School shooting.

And the owner was stating, well, he looked OK to me, and some of the other persons were stating, well he looked like a shooter to me. There was a question raised about the amount of money he had.

[15:45:00]

What wasn't raised in the report, according to my research it was a debit card. So, was it cash, was it a debit card? Was his grandmother's name on it or was his name on it. Were there reasonable questions asked, was it a legal purchase as your stating, when were these weapons exactly purchased by -- I believe that's a Davis Firearms online.

Was he, in fact, 18 at that time? And was he, in fact, intoxicated when he purchased when the shooter purchased the weapons? Where's the autopsy report. We don't have the autopsy report. That's very important for us to have.

Where are the reports on the door locks, why is that information being kept from me. Why is the city of Uvalde, et cetera, why are they -- why are they hiring lawyers with taxpayers money and asking me ridiculous questions. We're not sure what you mean by the manufacturer of the door lock, et cetera, which allowed him to get in.

know, the Texas Department of Public Safety director stated something -- he stated -- contradicted himself, I think in about one minute three times. At one point he said, well, the strike plate that wasn't aligned on the back door, that northwest -- I believe it was the northwest door where the shooter entered. Then he stated, well, it wasn't kept locked, and it wasn't kept locked. Then it was defective. So, we had like three different stories, and we do know the school -- the teacher who propped open the gun momentarily with a rock, why would she put the rock in the door if she thought -- if she was working in that school, why would she do that if she didn't think it would lock.

You can go in any cheap hotel in the United States of America and you could see that as they run into the outside, if it's a motel, you have to prop the doors open. There's card systems. Very inexpensive (INAUDIBLE).

So, we know these are going to be issues, regarding the door lock, regarding these --. Now, regarding the lawsuits against the manufacturer, there was this -- what can I say, there's an immunity, protection of lawful commerce and firearms act. I don't hear anybody repealing that. Which makes them basically immune from lawsuit. But that's another issue, and that's something that we're obviously working under the burden of. OK. Mark Di Carlo, thank you very much for just the tip of the iceberg

explaining to us all of the questions that you and the families still have. Obviously, we will speak to you again.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Mark.

DI CARLO: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Netflix investors are holding their breath right now ahead of the company's earnings report releasing in about 15 minutes. Next, we'll look at how ugly it's expected to be and the possible ripple effects across the entire streaming industry.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Netflix's quarterly earnings come out momentarily.

BLACKWELL: The streaming service is financially struggling. Shares are down nearly 70 percent. It's also bleeding subscribers amid a sea of cheaper alternatives. Brian Stelter, CNN chief media correspondent and host of CNN "RELIABLE SOURCES" here. So, what are we looking for? Is this just the number of subscribers versus the last report?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and there's a massive reset happening with expectations around Netflix. Wall Street investors, shareholders, in fact, you know, average shareholders, mom and pop shareholders that bought into the Netflix story, they've had to go through a reset in recent months because subscription growth has slowed and now stopped and is now declining in Netflix. And as goes Netflix, so goes the streaming sector as a whole.

So that's why this is one of the most interesting business stories of the year, all about to happen when Netflix reveals its new subscriber totals. The company has said it expects to lose 2 million subscribers in the quarter -- in the spring quarter. If they lose more even than that, that's a bad sign, if they lose fewer it's a good sign. But it also portends for Disney, for our parents company Warner Brothers Discovery and others, what's the state of streaming. It is complicated, right. Because we are all streaming television. All of us have our favorite shows on streaming. Streaming is not going away. There's going to be more and more of these platforms, more and more of these options, but for Wall Street, for investors, this is a giant reset moment. A reevaluation.

CAMEROTA: And so, Netflix says that one of the ways it's going to combat this is to cut down on password sharing.

STELTER: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Maybe they have more subscribers than they think?

STELTER: They do. I mean, I've talked to executives about this. They are confident there are lots and lots of households out there that are willing to pay for Netflix if they suddenly can't share their neighbor's or their friend's or their family members password. They're going to add the ad-supported platform -- the ad supported model.

You know, there's nothing new around the sun, there's nothing new in media. It's always back to the beginning. Here we are in a medium where there's ads and subscription revenue. That's what Netflix is going to do as well. They're going to add an advertiser supported version in order to attract more subscribers, not just in the U.S. but around the world. After all, these platforms are global and they're really saturated in the U.S.

Pretty much everyone that wants to sign up for a streaming service in the United States or Canada has done that, but they want to reach new customers all over the world, and they can do that by cracking down on password sharing, by adding an ad supported option. You know, it's kind of the future of media, as I would say, it's all of the above. So, there will be an ad version, there'll be a no-ads version and most of all, they're still going to be a ton of TV to watch, probably too much.

CAMEROTA: OK. On that note, Brian Stelter, thank you.

BLACKWELL: A man is hailed as a hero after police say he saved several children in this burning home. Incredible story. We have it for you after the break.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: OK, you have to see this story. A 25-year-old man in Indiana is being hailed as a hero after saving five children from a house on fire. By the time firefighters in Lafayette, Indiana, arrived on the scene, Nicolas Bostic had already pulled four of the children, between one-year-old and 18-years-old out of the home. He just spotted the house fire as he was driving by. And then he rushed back into the burning home when he heard that a 6-year-old was still trapped inside. And then, Victor, he grabbed her, punched out a second story window with his hand, and jumped with her tucked under his arm.

BLACKWELL: It's remarkable. Now, Bostick suffered some serious injuries to his arms and smoke inhalation.

[16:00:00]

This is the police body cam video the moment that Bostick hands the rescued girl off to the first responders. I mean, just a guy passing by saves these five.

CAMEROTA: And how can he be that brave? I mean, first of all, it's a house on fire, and he runs back in when he hears that there's a 6- year-old trapped inside. And he gets her. So, he used to be a delivery man. I'm not sure what he will be in the future, but he will have job offers.

BLACKWELL: He's a superhero today. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.