Anyone scrolling on X, formerly known as Twitter, will likely see some odd posts at any given time. It’s expected. I did see one post this morning that caught my attention. It was from Cookie Monster.
That’s right. Cookie Monster, the big blue Sesame Street character who has a thing for cookies has a Twitter account. He is complaining about shrinkflation.
Guess me going to have to eat double da cookies!
🍪🍪— Cookie Monster (@MeCookieMonster) March 4, 2024
I feel ya, Cookie.
However, Frank Oz, the legendary Sesame Street puppeteer, was not amused. At all. He fumed at the act of Cookie Monster commenting on a real-world problem.
I’m shocked to see a news article on Cookie Monster talking about “shrinkflation”. Jim would NEVER have allowed this. The SS Muppets need to live in their own pure world. Not our world. What has happened to the integrity of the character and the integrity of Sesame Workshop?
— Frank Oz (@TheFrankOzJam) March 5, 2024
Here’s the thing – Sesame Street has taken on real-world problems for years and years. The show should stay out of politics but it has been a bridge to little viewers on some complicated adult issues for a long time. Would Jim Henson be bothered by a comment on shrinkflation? I don’t know but his longtime friend and colleague seems to think so.
Is this satire? The sesame street muppets have been a beacon of real world problems taught to our children in a manner they can understand. From hiv, racism, death, autism and even 911.
To be completely honest, I think Jim would be more upset with your tweet.
— preach (@preachdnb) March 5, 2024
This is true. Sesame Street has more aggressively addressed serious issues with children as time passes. I haven’t seen an episode in many years but I can tell you that my Millennial son watched the show when he was a little boy. It seemed like a more innocent show in those days but those days are gone. Today’s world is different.
We can joke about serious things.
Elmo Radicalized After Migrants Bused To Sesame Street https://t.co/1yINdDnI4G pic.twitter.com/krt22xvQQl
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) February 10, 2024
Elmo got a COVID-19 vaccine and Senator Ted Cruz responded. Keep in mind that Big Bird has been encouraging children to get childhood vaccines for years. He also encouraged children ages 5-11 to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it became available during the pandemic. Big Bird is 6 and he had questions. Sesame Street did a show about it.
Sesame Street’s Big Bird asks CNN’s @drsanjaygupta and @EricaRHill about the COVID vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. pic.twitter.com/qbbynhgfcm
— The Recount (@therecount) November 7, 2021
Ted Cruz called it government propaganda. Understandable. Sesame Street is an NPR show and receives government funding.
Government propaganda…for your 5 year old! https://t.co/lKUlomnpq1
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 6, 2021
Anyway, even Sesame Street does not escape controversy. It has been a little too political for my taste. YMMV.
Cookie Monster’s tweet created a stir when Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) jumped right in and asked for a political donation. Cookie Monster’s account hid the reply. And I laughed…
Casey, who is up for reelection in November, appeared on Cookie Monster’s replies, telling the hungry TV puppet, “I’m on it.”
“I need your help to hold big corporations accountable for using shrinkflation to rake in record profits,” Casey said to Cookie Monster. “Can you chip in $3 to help fight back?”
Cookie Monster isn’t the only Muppet Casey attempted to appeal to Monday. The Democrat also tried capturing the attention of Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Grover and Oscar the Grouch.
I’m dying. @Bob_Casey has tweeted at the Twitter accounts for both Cookie Monster and Grover (from Sesame Street).
Cookie Monster HID CASEY’S REPLY. pic.twitter.com/UEHjPMdA52
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) March 4, 2024
What in the world, Senator Casey? Leave the puppets alone.
Frank Oz’s tweet was backed up by another Hanson-era artist.
No. Frank is 100% correct. Jim’s world, that I got to be a small part of, and that Frank built side by side with Jim, is pure. It comes from the heart
— Guy Gilchrist (@GuyGilchrist) March 5, 2024
I don’t advocate for programming that pushes little ones to mature too quickly. Let kids be kids. In this case, I think it was Cookie Monster grousing about smaller cookies. Biden can be blamed for it, though shrinkflation has been going on in recent years, even before Biden caused record-high inflation. Biden increased the problem for consumers.
Read the full article here