Something totallllly random about me is that I type “Elmo being mean” into my YouTube search bar about once a quarter. This is because there is something so delightful about a three year old (now three-and-a-half year old) puppet being sassy. Maybe it’s because I worked in a speech clinic in college and have my own share of memories of children being poorly behaved in the funniest ways possible, but it brings me joy. Sue me.
Lately, the world is abuzz about Elmo Monster (his official last name). And I simply must take it upon myself to break down the recent (and evergreen) viral moments in the world of Elmo.
Elmo has very recently had three major headlines that I’ll be breaking down today. I would like to provide some context before we dive into all of that.
Context [Know your Elmo herstory]
Elmo Monster is a 3-and-a-half year old [we’ll discuss] Muppet, who is currently the face of Sesame Street. This has not always been the case. When Elmo first came on the scene in 1980, he was really more of a background and bit player. He was not the Elmo we know and love today, but rather just another face in the crowd.
But in 1987, in the episode 2096, Modern Elmo debuted. In this episode, he was instrumental in helping the adults see Mr. Snuffleupagus for the first time, after eons of thinking he was just Big Bird’s imaginary friend.
From then on, Elmo found his groove. He started appearing on talk shows in the 90s, most notably on the Rosie O’Donnell Show. [He and Rosie would later go on to collaborate on two Christmas CDs]. Ultimately, Elmo became the Elmo we know and love. By the early 2000s, we saw him on pajamas and backpacks, something we still see to this day. Even amongst kitschy children’s clothing based on newer, flashier IP, Elmo persists.
Oh and by the by, Elmo has hosted his own late night show, written cookbooks, and recorded albums. He’s a multi-hyphenate every Brooklynite wishes they could be.
In the past decade, Elmo has been making headlines for his bad behavior, both in real time and, more recently, in retrospective vines, compilations, clips, and TikTok trends. Like when he bullied Zoe about her pet rock, Rocco, whom he has an insane beef with. The TLDR is that he understands that Rocco isn’t real, but Zoe treats Rocco like he is and feels Rocco is entitled to various benefits of friendship, sometimes to the detriment of our furry red king. For instance, one time Rocco got the last oatmeal raisin cookie and Elmo tried to take it, which Zoe would not have despite the fact that Rocco is, as Elmo insisted, a rock.
Elmo also has well-known and storied beef with Jimmy Fallon. Elmo and Jimmy were performing a song, which Elmo didn’t quite know…and Jimmy called him out. Elmo had the biggest diva meltdown I’ve ever seen. He all but declared a public war on Jimmy stating that he was no longer welcome on Sesame Street and, ultimately, punching Jimmy.
Elmo has since been on Jimmy’s show several times, each time as chaotic as the last. Perhaps you’ve seen the clip of Elmo cooking and saying the word “balsamic vinegar” really funny. That’s on Fallon’s show in a segment in which Elmo admits to not knowing how to cook any of his own recipes. The lack of preparation was a subtle slap in Jimmy’s face.
In all of these instances, we’re reminded that Elmo is canonically 3.5 years old [we’ll get to the age thing later, I promise]. Yes, he has tantrums. Yes he says things funny. Yes, he has no capability of the first-person singular pronoun. That’s what we love about him. At the end of the day, he’s a very sweet young boy who is just trying to navigate this weird and wild world with the help of his friends. Keep all of this in the back of your mind.
The Tweet
The casual Elmo consumer may not know that Mr. Monster is quite active on Twitter. He posts about once a day on average, which is pretty big for a TV show character. Not to mention impressive for a three-year-old. The motor function and cognitive skills it involves…he’s so advanced!
Elmo’s tweets get a modicum of attention every once in a while, but his numbers never go too crazy. He usually gets about 2-5k likes and anywhere from a couple hundred to thousands of retweets.
And then on January 29, a mere day after he wished gay Muppet Ernie a happy birthday, The Tweet happened. Elmo Tweeted the following:
It seemed so innocent, no? Elmo’s just checking in. How lovely!
Well, apparently our society is broken. Everybody and their mother responded and retweeted, trauma dumping on Elmo. Rainn Wilson of the Office replied saying he’s “at a crossroads in [his] life and could use the support.” Several people told this three-year-old how hopelessly depressed they were. “Every day I wake up and cannot wait to go back to sleep,” stated user contrarianguild. More people than I can count told Elmo they were tired in both shades of irony and earnestness. For reference:
This poor toddler became shoulder to cry on of far too many people. The response was so shocking and overwhelming that 988 Suicide and Crisis' Hotline popped on to link their resources.
Elmo tweeted on January 30th, “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing. Elmo will check in again soon, friends! Elmo loves you. <3 #EmotionalWellBeing.”
Like I’m sorry, but did we really have to do this to ELMO? Could we not just let the poor boy live?!?!?!?
Larry David
As if Elmo hadn’t had enough, when he went on NBC’s Today Show to talk about his recent confrontation with the reality of modern adult living vis-a-vis an onslaught of quote tweets and replies, he was attacked by Larry David.
Elmo was wrapping up his segment with his father after doing a very good job and all of a sudden, Al Roker told everybody to wait. Larry David came over to Elmo and just started grabbing his face quite roughly. Then he walked off without any fanfare. It came and went before it even started.
Later on the same day, Larry apologized to Elmo after his father Louie threatened to sue. And even later that same day, he appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers (notably not Jimmy Fallon…). Seth very charmingly confronted Larry about the affair. Larry said that Elmo was just going on too long and that he couldn’t take another second of it (half in an Elmo impression) and that he throttled Elmo because he just couldn’t take it. He insists he would do it again.
Looks like Larry was just saving face with Louie and Elmo to avoid a lawsuit—an often-used technique that’s quite unsavory to behold. I don’t think this is the last we’ll be seeing of this feud…
Happy Birthday, Elmo?
Finally, some good news for Elmo? Elmo has canonically been three-years-old since 1980. But on February 3rd, he turned three-and-a-half. This is confusing for many reasons, chiefly because his age has been such a staple of his character. Changing it now is odd enough, but changing it to a half-age feels like such a noncommittal way to develop Elmo’s character. Like…who celebrates half birthdays anyway???
And also, he has aged half an Elmo year in the span of 43 human years…The implications that has…
Frankly, I don’t even have anything to say, I’m just hopeful scientists can get to the bottom of his aging pattern and soon. I don’t want him to be a lab animal, but I think it’s really important to monitor biological outliers and Elmo is no exception.
What does it all mean?
For our sweet boy to have such a HUGE two weeks strikes one Poppington writer as a tad bit suspicious. Not to be all “there are no coincidences,” buuuuutttttttt…If consuming celebrity media for 26 years has taught me anything, it’s that when so much good will and celebration is generated about someone in such a short span it’s because of one of two things 1) they’re hyping up the release of something big or 2) they’re getting ahead of bad press.
Perhaps Elmo is expanding his empire. Another book or album? Maybe he’s got a new movie coming out. Could Sesame Street be next in the line of children’s media getting reboots a la Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Lena Dunham’s forthcoming Polly Pocket?
Or is Elmo about to get cancelled for insensitive tweets. Has he been a nightmare on set this whole time? Is he lying about his age and using his juvenile charm for clout?
Only time will tell. I’ll be watching. And when I know, you’ll know.