Elmo returns to his wholesome self, promoting love instead of racism and Epstein claims
'Thank you for being kind to Elmo and all the people in your neighborhood,' the iconic 'Sesame Street' furball tweeted Tuesday. 'Elmo loves you.'
Earlier this week, the permanently 3½-year-old mascot shocked followers when he posted numerous hateful tweets, including those threatening violence against the Jewish community and others demanding that President Trump release Epstein's purported 'client list.' In the series of since-deleted posts, Elmo dubbed Trump a 'puppet' for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and alleged the president was involved in Epstein's sex-trafficking operation.
The tweets, obviously out of line with Elmo's regular playful programming on social media, naturally went viral as users circulated screenshots of the disturbing posts. 'The Daily Show' and host Jon Stewart also had their fun with Elmo's uncharacteristic tweets, creating a segment that generated more out-of-pocket takes for the normally innocuous puppet.
Amid the online buzz, the 'Sesame Street' organization Sesame Workshop alleged in a statement that Elmo's X account was 'compromised by an unknown hacker' and condemned the 'disgusting messages.'
A spokesperson for X told The Times that it could not comment 'on the specifics of individual accounts,' adding that it encourages all users to 'leverage the security methods' outlined in its help center page.
While X did not confirm the takeover of Elmo's account, the alleged hacker left a link — that has since been deleted — on the character's page directing followers to a user's Telegram channel. On Telegram, the user appears to take credit for the hack and also shared a message praising Adolf Hitler and Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
In a Tuesday statement shared to Elmo's X account, Sesame Workshop doubled down on its allegations that a hacker was behind the disturbing tweets 'in spite of the security measures in place.' Sesame Workshop echoed disapproval of the 'abhorrent' posts and assured fans it has since regained control of Elmo's account.
Sesame Workshop added: 'These posts in no way reflect the values of Sesame Workshop or Sesame Street, and no one at the organization was involved.'
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