Red Fur, Real Talk: Jon Stewart’s Elmo Puppet Gets Political”
After Elmo’s official X (formerly Twitter) account was hacked over the weekend and used to post disturbing and offensive content, Jon Stewart ( an American writer and comedian) took a comedic jab at the situation on The Daily Show Monday night. Using a puppet version of the beloved Sesame Street character, Stewart poked fun at the incident with a satirical skit.
Stewart began by sharing a throwback photo of himself with the real Elmo, expressing mock shock at the inappropriate posts. Taking on the voice of the puppet, Stewart joked, “Elmo was hacked because someone figured out Elmo’s password was ‘Elmo! Elmo123.’ Elmo knows passwords need more numbers, but Elmo only knows three.”
The sketch quickly turned into a parody of internet radicalization. Stewart’s Elmo admitted responsibility, jokingly blaming his descent into conspiracy theories on the influence of the “manosphere” and social media algorithms. “Elmo was doing research on flu shots. Six hours later, Elmo was moderating a QAnon Discord and building homemade bombs,” Stewart said as the puppet.
When Stewart reminded Elmo of his responsibility as a role model for children, the puppet snapped back, accusing the host of suppressing free speech. “Who’s the real puppet now, Jon? You! You’re the puppet,” Elmo retorted.
The bit continued with the puppet claiming to be “alt-right” in a satirical attempt to protect funding for children’s programming. “No reason to cancel Elmo’s funding then,” Stewart joked, referencing past efforts by President Donald Trump to cut funding for PBS, the home of Sesame Street.
“Elmo can’t go back to the streets, Jon. Elmo’s too pretty to live under a bridge,” Stewart quipped, still in character.
On Tuesday, Elmo’s official Instagram account confirmed the X account had been hacked by an outside party despite existing security measures. The statement condemned the antisemitic and racist messages, emphasizing that the posts in no way reflect the views of Sesame Workshop or Sesame Street. The organization also clarified that no one affiliated with the show was involved in the incident.
The offensive posts, since deleted, reportedly included calls for violence against Jewish people, claims that President Trump was controlled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and demands for the release of Epstein-related law enforcement files.