The London Library apologized for hosting an event that encouraged children to read. During the event, an actor wore a naked monkey costume and a fake penis.
A video shared on social media on Saturday showed members of the Mandiga Art Group at the Red Bridge Library Summer Reading Challenge at the Good Mess Library East London.
Three performers were filmed outside the event, and one of them wore an “inappropriate” rainbow monkey costume, which attracted the attention of residents.
The writer Janice Turner wrote: “I really like the detailed breakdown of the debugging process, namely Red Bridge Committee Entrusted Rainbow Dildo Butt Monkey as a way to teach children to read. “
Conservative activist Hass Ahmed said: “Obviously, this is to encourage Redbridge’s children to study during the summer vacation. Please tell me the rationale behind these indecent costumes that are shown to the family and publicly displayed. Is this really necessary?”
The photo also showed the actors in the library, causing an uproar among the parents.
One parent said: “Someone needs to lose their job for this.”
The second person asked: “This is incredible. As a society, have we completely lost the moral compass?”
The Redbridge Library later apologized and ensured that “this situation will never happen again.”
“Today at the event held in the library, the Carnival Art Company performed a performance.
“Unfortunately, one of the animal costumes was inappropriate and we didn’t know it when we booked,” they wrote on Twitter.
“We apologize for the offense. We are investigating this matter.”
The Redbridge City Council stated that they did not arrange this event. It was organized by Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure (RCL), a registered charity and non-profit organization, and “apologized to the residents thereafter.”
The committee said in a statement to the standard: “We were very shocked by the unacceptable event held by our independent leisure contractor Vision at the Redbridge Library on Saturday.
“The contractor commissioned a role to support the start of the Summer Reading Challenge, but the clothing involved was completely unsuitable for the target audience
“A thorough investigation has been conducted on how this incident occurred, and severe actions will be taken. We apologize for the offense and trouble caused by this.”
Committee leader Jas Athwal added that all future performances have been cancelled.
Mandiga Arts Group also apologized for the offense.
“We never intended to offend residents. We respect everyone’s personal opinions and do not offend any part,” they wrote.
