This is being looked into …”ġ/2 During an event put on at the library today there was a performance by a Carnival Arts Company. “We deeply apologize for the offense caused. Unfortunately one of the animal costumes was inappropriate which we were not aware of at the time of booking,” the library later said in a statement posted to Twitter. “During an event put on at the library today there was a performance by a Carnival Arts Company. Redbridge Libraries were forced to issue an apology for the jaw-dropping performance, vowing it was not an incident they planned to repeat. I mean how many librarian/councillor eyes had to behold the Rainbow Dildo Butt Monkey before he was released into the wild to delight the children of Redbridge? 🤔 /SbkDerdDZb Please tell me the rationale behind these indecent costumes that were shown to families and done so publicly. Warning: tweets contain graphic images and languageĪpparently this is meant to encourage kids in Redbridge to pick up reading for summer. Another image showed him shaking the costume’s fake bare bottom at the cars.Īll for the sake of encouraging children to read, mind you. One video shows the actor in the technicolor costume running and then gyrating by a roadside holding a sign above his head in a manner that almost undeniably appears intended to shake the fake penis around to the passing cards. Twitter users shared photos and videos of the costume, wondering what purpose the bizarre performance served to the children of east London or how it could possibly contribute towards encouraging children to read. The “performance art” was put on by a group called Mandinga Arts, which has since gone off line but which by some accounts appears to have been very poorly vetted by the libraries and the organization that worked with them on the summer reading program. The U.K.’s Evening Standard reported that photos of the spectacle were taken as part of the Redbridge Libraries Summer Reading Challenge event at Goodmayes Library in east London and disseminated on social media which is what drew the harsh scrutiny. There was also a promise that such an incident would never happen again.As part of a program meant to encourage children to read, an actor dressed in a rainbow-colored monkey costume with fake nipples, penis, and bare bottom danced around outside London libraries last weekend, sparking outrage. The organisation did note that ‘this event was arranged by Vision and not Redbridge Council’ before adding that they stopped the event as soon as they realised what was happening. This is being looked into and a further statement will be made. We deeply apologise for the offence caused. Unfortunately one of the animal costumes was inappropriate which we were not aware of at the time of booking. Redbridge Libraries have now released a statement about what happened:ĭuring an event put on at the library today there was a performance by a Carnival Arts Company. There were also wider discussions about the impact this would have on children. This sentiment has been echoed by many others who were unsure of how the costumes were approved for an event designed for children. On the back of the strange incident, school governor Has Ahmed stated that ‘apparently this is meant to encourage kids in Redbridge to pick up reading for summer’ before asking about the rationale behind the ‘indecent costumes’.

In future, when we think back on the zeitgeist of 2021, we may remember Rainbow Dildo Butt Monkey, and wonder how on earth we descended to thinking that this was suitable entertainment for children. Can a word capture the spirit of an age? Images certainly can.

Goodmayes library monkey