Elmo, the beloved character from “Sesame Street,” has been portrayed in numerous ways over the years, yet never before as a supporter of the alt-right movement.
Following the hacking of a popular character’s X account, Jon Stewart took to “The Daily Show” on Monday to entertain viewers with a look-alike puppet of Elmo.
The talk show host presented a photograph to the audience, recalling his past collaboration with the renowned muppet. He expressed his surprise regarding the recent tweets.
Stewart, in his role as the voice of the “Elmo” puppet, alleged that he fell victim to hacking after an individual successfully guessed that Elmo’s password was simply Elmo! Elmo123. Elmo is aware that passwords ought to include a greater number of digits; however, Elmo is limited to just three numbers.
Stewart quickly asserted the “truth,” emphasising that Elmo must take accountability for his actions.
“Elmo had undergone a transformation, influenced by the ideologies of the manosphere.” “Elmo is part of the male loneliness epidemic,” stated Stewart, speaking through the puppet. Elmo conducted his investigation into flu shots. Six hours later, due to the algorithm, Elmo found himself moderating the QAnon Discord chat while also constructing homemade bombs.
Following Stewart’s reminder of his impact on children, the muppet responded sharply.
“Once again, the self-proclaimed tolerant left is monitoring speech that contradicts their progressive beliefs,” he stated. “Who is truly the puppet now, Jon?” You! You are the actual puppet.
Following Stewart’s accusation, which labeled the character’s remarks as “alt-right talking point word salad,” the discussion delved into the core issues at hand.
“Elmo’s alt-right,” the puppet quipped, suggesting he was catering to a specific audience to secure funding for public broadcasting and educational programs for children. “There appears to be no justification for cancelling Elmo’s funding.”
President Donald Trump has urged Congress to eliminate funding for PBS, the origin of “Sesame Street,” alleging that the network exhibits a liberal bias.
“Elmo is unable to return to the streets, Jon!” “You have no idea what it’s like,” Stewart remarked while portraying the puppet. “Elmo is far too beautiful to be living beneath a bridge, Jon.”
On Tuesday, the official Instagram account for Elmo released a statement revealing that “Elmo’s X account was briefly hacked by an outside party, in spite of the security measures in place” on Sunday. “The abhorrent antisemitic and racist content has been strongly condemned, and measures have been taken to secure the account.”
The statement asserted, “These posts do not represent the values of Sesame Workshop or Sesame Street, and no individuals within the organisation were involved.”
