Puppets must not be black



A CHILDREN’S puppet show was suspended after complaints a black puppet looked like it was wearing a Muslim hijab and was racially offensive.

Kidzania London suspended Thursday’s performance of the show while it investigated a complaint made by a father who had taken his family to celebrate his daughter’s eighth birthday.

Pappi Ndelu, from Wandsworth, south-west London, said: “As an ethnic minority living in London, I was shocked and embarrassed to watch a racist children’s puppet show that is culturally insensitive towards black people and Muslims.”

The show, which is performed at the company’s indoor amusement park in Westfield Shopping Centre, west London, depicts a puppet called Shadow being bullied by two white puppets. The puppet is completely covered in a black sheet with just spaces for eyes.

Mr Ndelu said: "It looked like the character Shadow was wearing a hijab, they started saying Shadow was scary and black and ugly.

“The two white puppets started talking about how they have a problem with Shadow's appearance. “The language that was being used by the two white puppets was frightening and appalling.

“This really made me feel uncomfortable being a black African father seated right in the front row.”

SOURCE