We officially live in the strangest timeline imaginable.
After Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance lit up social media, one of the most unexpected endorsements came from Elmo — yes, that Elmo — the Sesame Street character marketed to preschoolers.
“Elmo” took to X to gush over the performance, calling Bad Bunny “amazing” and joking that he should be renamed “Good Bunny.” Cute, right? Not so fast.
Conservative commentator Liz Wheeler wasn’t having it — and she delivered one of the most viral callouts of the week.
Wheeler reposted Elmo’s message and pointed out the obvious problem: the lyrics performed during Bad Bunny’s set were loaded with graphic sexual content, explicit imagery, and themes that have absolutely no business being normalized — let alone celebrated — by a character designed to speak to small children.
“As a muppet that speaks to small children, you think this is ‘amazing,’ Elmo?” Wheeler asked, before laying out exactly what was being endorsed.
And that’s where the story stops being funny and starts being revealing.
This wasn’t about music taste. It was about who our cultural gatekeepers are now willing to pander to — and at whose expense.
Bad Bunny’s lyrics, which Wheeler highlighted, are not subtle. They are overtly sexual, aggressive, and degrading — the kind of content parents actively try to shield kids from. Yet here was a beloved children’s character, run by a massive media institution, publicly applauding it without hesitation.
That’s not an accident. It’s the result of a culture that no longer draws lines.
For years, Americans were told Sesame Street was about learning letters, kindness, and basic morality. Now, one of its most recognizable faces is cheerleading pop culture that celebrates excess, vulgarity, and shock value — all under the banner of being “cool” or “progressive.”
Wheeler’s callout resonated because it tapped into something parents already feel: the slow erosion of boundaries in children’s spaces, driven by elites who don’t have to live with the consequences.
This wasn’t “wholesome fun.” It was corporate virtue signaling dressed up as a puppet tweet.
And the backlash proves Americans are waking up.
The fight isn’t Elmo versus Liz Wheeler. It’s common sense versus a media machine that keeps insisting there’s nothing wrong with pushing adult content into every corner of public life — even ones meant for kids.
If Elmo is cheering for this now, parents are right to ask:
Who exactly is Sesame Street being made for anymore?
"Elmo Says Hi" by Wootang01 is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
