Link (Archive)
The post, which was published on June 1, featured a graphic of the arms of various residents of Sesame Street arranged in rainbow order. “On our street, everyone is welcome,” the post reads. “Together, let’s build a world where every person and family feels loved and respected for who they are. Happy #PrideMonth!”
A totally innocuous post, and yet, because this is 2025, right-wingers lost their minds. In a since-deleted post, the Republican Study Committee, a conservative caucus among House Republicans, replied, “I am once again asking PBS to stop grooming children,” alongside a picture of Bernie Sanders, per The Hill. Although the RSC’s post is gone, various Republican representatives posted to X on Monday expressing similar sentiments.
Rep. Mary Miller (R-Illinois), a member of the RSCas well as the similarly conservative Congressional Family Caucus and the House Freedom Caucus, posted to X on June 2, claiming, “PBS is shamelessly grooming our children while collecting taxpayer dollars.”
“This is evil and should infuriate every parent in America,” she said, finishing with a call to “DEFUND!!”
Other House Republicans responded to a separate viral video on X posted by the right wing account The Patriot Oasis, consisting of a clip from a 2020 episode of The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo that features Jonathan Van Ness as a guest. In the clip, which is less than a minute long, Van Ness introduces a monster called Alan, who’s undergone a “makeover.” Again, completely innocuous stuff.
And yet, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) reposted the clip, accompanied by nearly identical language and rhetoric to Miller’s post, writing, “PBS is grooming children on American taxpayers’ dime. This is unacceptable. Congress must defund them and hold the executives accountable.”
Both Sesame Street’s Pride month post and the clip from The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo also received plenty of hateful replies from non-Congressional right-wingers who also falsely claimed that such content is inherently inappropriate for children. That’s in keeping with the White House’s attacks on both PBS and NPR since at least April. In a statement posted to the White House website on April 14, the White House accused both PBS and NPR of spreading “radical, woke propaganda,” the first example of which is an NPR feature about queer animals. In May, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directed federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS;” on June 3, the White House officially sent a formal request to Congress to cut $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds both NPR and PBS.
In a statement issued May 2, PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger called Trump’s executive order “blatantly unlawful” and said that it “threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years.”
“We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans,” she added.
Thankfully, Sesame Street will still be available for viewing on Netflix, as well as on PBS and PBS Kids, as per a recent acquisition.
Sesame Street Said Happy Pride. Now Conservatives Are Frothing at the Mouth
Sesame Street posted something adorable to X in honor of Pride Month, which means that Republicans are once again accusing the beloved TV show of “grooming” children.The post, which was published on June 1, featured a graphic of the arms of various residents of Sesame Street arranged in rainbow order. “On our street, everyone is welcome,” the post reads. “Together, let’s build a world where every person and family feels loved and respected for who they are. Happy #PrideMonth!”
A totally innocuous post, and yet, because this is 2025, right-wingers lost their minds. In a since-deleted post, the Republican Study Committee, a conservative caucus among House Republicans, replied, “I am once again asking PBS to stop grooming children,” alongside a picture of Bernie Sanders, per The Hill. Although the RSC’s post is gone, various Republican representatives posted to X on Monday expressing similar sentiments.
Rep. Mary Miller (R-Illinois), a member of the RSCas well as the similarly conservative Congressional Family Caucus and the House Freedom Caucus, posted to X on June 2, claiming, “PBS is shamelessly grooming our children while collecting taxpayer dollars.”
“This is evil and should infuriate every parent in America,” she said, finishing with a call to “DEFUND!!”
Other House Republicans responded to a separate viral video on X posted by the right wing account The Patriot Oasis, consisting of a clip from a 2020 episode of The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo that features Jonathan Van Ness as a guest. In the clip, which is less than a minute long, Van Ness introduces a monster called Alan, who’s undergone a “makeover.” Again, completely innocuous stuff.
And yet, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) reposted the clip, accompanied by nearly identical language and rhetoric to Miller’s post, writing, “PBS is grooming children on American taxpayers’ dime. This is unacceptable. Congress must defund them and hold the executives accountable.”
Both Sesame Street’s Pride month post and the clip from The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo also received plenty of hateful replies from non-Congressional right-wingers who also falsely claimed that such content is inherently inappropriate for children. That’s in keeping with the White House’s attacks on both PBS and NPR since at least April. In a statement posted to the White House website on April 14, the White House accused both PBS and NPR of spreading “radical, woke propaganda,” the first example of which is an NPR feature about queer animals. In May, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directed federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS;” on June 3, the White House officially sent a formal request to Congress to cut $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds both NPR and PBS.
In a statement issued May 2, PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger called Trump’s executive order “blatantly unlawful” and said that it “threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years.”
“We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans,” she added.
Thankfully, Sesame Street will still be available for viewing on Netflix, as well as on PBS and PBS Kids, as per a recent acquisition.
