Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | March 6, 2024
Sesame Street is a happy place. There, the problems of the real world seem far away and minuscule. Conflicts are simpler. Grover may bring someone a shoe when they ask for a sandwich. Big Bird may lose his nest, but his friends will help him build a new one. Elmo exhibits blinding rage toward a pet rock. It’s all easy breezy on Sesame Street. So, imagine Frank Oz’s surprise when he saw Cookie Monster jokingly tweeting about inflation or, as the blue monster called it, “shrinkflation.”
Me hate shrinkflation! Me cookies are getting smaller. 😔
— Cookie Monster (@MeCookieMonster) March 4, 2024
The characters of Sesame Street are no strangers to social media. Elmo recently found himself being the target of everyone’s existential dread when he dared ask, “How is everybody doing?” The responses were swift, and the tweet went viral. Whoever runs the Twitter account for everyone’s favorite monsters saw that and must have urged the others to do the same. Now, we get Cookie Monster joking about politics, much to the chagrin of his original companion and voice, Frank Oz.
Oz took to Twitter to shame the monster and the Sesame Workshop writ large while invoking the name of their creator, Jim Henson. “I’m shocked to see a news article on Cookie Monster talking about “shrinkflation,” the legendary voice actor said. “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?” Ouch!
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
I don’t disagree with Oz. Sesame Street should be worry-free. It should portray a world where the biggest concerns are snacks, naps, and having fun. In other words, it should reflect the world of the people watching it, like my soon-to-be three-year-old twins. That being said, my kids don’t have Twitter (that I’m aware of), nor do most of the people who earnestly watch the show (I hope).
The complaint feels a little silly when you step back for a moment. I would hope that Oz realizes the person who made the tweet is likely an underpaid social media manager. Yes, brand and character authenticity is important, but different platforms require different methods. I think Henson would (and did) understand this. But to be fair, I didn’t know the man personally like Oz did.
If anything, Oz is lucky that Cookie Monster didn’t say something worse. Twitter is currently a cesspool of hate, misinformation, and Wendy’s ads. It’s no place for children. Hell, it’s hardly a place for adults. As long as Cookie Monster isn’t hopping into the mentions of accounts with nazi-adjacent names saying, “me think this interesting,” we’ll be okay.
