Stephen Colbert Introduces Trauma Me Elmo

By Andrew Sanford | TV | February 1, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | February 1, 2024 |

Elmo is the best. He’s three years old, with all the good and bad that brings. Yet, he’s still warm and friendly and loves everybody. When he says, “Elmo loves you,” you believe it. That’s why it makes sense that Elmo, like some modern deity, would absorb the existential dread currently facing the world’s citizens (outside of Sesame Street).

Elmo recently tweeted (something I never thought I would write) asking, “How is everybody doing?” The answers were about what you would expect. People are going through it, Elmo. War. Famine. I am trying desperately to avoid spoilers for the new True Detective because I have kids and am still trying to finish the fifth season of Fargo. Life is hard!

The folks at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert took Elmo’s tweet a step further! They kicked off their show by introducing Trauma Me Elmo! Twitter has ruined this Elmo. Everyone’s desperate pleas for a savior have fallen on Elmo, and he’s handling it the best that a three-year-old monster can. In short, he’s weeping and staring into a void, questioning his creator.

My kids were doing activities at the table with me as I worked on this, so I let them watch the video. Most of it went over their heads, and thank goodness for that. The last thing I need is one of these two to realize that life is a cruel joke made worse by learning of the futility of our existence. When asked to comment, Isaiah said,
“the kids were holding Elmo, and Elmo was sitting on the table like that.” Maybe he’s mainlining the secret truth of the universe more than I thought.