PBS has been distancing itself from Elmo, a well-loved character on their popular Sesame Street program, after Project Veritas released a video of the respected children’s entertainer making troubling comments about the letter T, a frequent sponsor of the program.
The video, released over the weekend, shows the usually-lovable red monster drinking canned beer and complaining about the letter T and it’s most avid fans. In the video he says “You know the letter T is a fag, right?” before joking that the letter T stands for “trailer trash” and calling T’s fans “Trump-loving bumblefucks”, asserting that children of letter T fans would eventually need to be placed in re-education camps
While Project Veritas videos are often met with much scrutiny, neither PBS or HBO, which produce the program, have disputed what Elmo was heard saying in the video.
PBS responded by issuing a statement:
Elmo is an actor on our programming, but he has no creative control over the product nor is he responsible for any of the writing involved that brings our program to life in a manner which we hope is engaging and educational for children everywhere. The character and the role he plays on our program is solely in the hands of the Sesame Workshop and good, non-controversial folks like Benjamin Lehmann and Ken Scarborough.
PBS and the Sesame Workshop have no control over what Elmo says off the air or in private conversations away from the set. We share the concern that these statements — statements which do not necessarily mirror our own core values — reflect poorly on Elmo and his character and we’ll have to take that into consideration if we choose to continue moving forward with Elmo as a part of our show.
PBS and Sesame Workshop have had a long, warm relationship with the letter T, and we appreciate the support the letter T has given us over the years by sponsoring Sesame Street programming year after year in an effort to help us nurture young minds.
Some estimates show that the letter T’s sponsorship has provided nearly 3% of Sesame Street’s production revenue over the total run of their program.
Officials from HBO, which has aired Sesame Street originals since 2016, are also expected to issue a statement about Elmo’s comments on the letter T.
In light of the allegations brought forward by the Project Veritas video, both HBO and PBS have steadfastly denied ongoing rumors concerning Elmo’s strained relationship with the the letters J and N.
Brown Valley Observer 