Guys... Elmo's doing coke again. pic.twitter.com/Gy4q21n0e7

— Mike (redacted) (@InmateMike) July 13, 2025

The hacked posts included statements such as "Kill all Jews," "Elmo says all Jews should die. F*ck Jews. Donald Trump is Netanyahu's puppet because he is in the Epstein files. Jews control the world and need to be exterminated," among other hateful content.

The compromised account also responded to other users with similarly crude replies, employing profanity, threats, and extremist language that shocked the platform's community.

Reactions poured in immediately, spreading like wildfire across social media. Thousands of users expressed shock, anger, and disgust. Many documented the tweets and shared them further, some out of disbelief, others as criticism of social media culture and the politicization of every possible space.

Within minutes, Elmo became the hottest trending topic online, generating responses ranging from sharp satire to genuine concern. The American political establishment didn't remain indifferent either. Senator Mike Lee (Republican from Utah) tweeted, "I am scarred forever by Elmo – words I never thought I'd say." Philip Lewis, deputy editor at The Huffington Post, wrote, "I thought we all agreed Elmo was off limits." Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz added ironically, "See what happens when you defund PBS."

Elmo got hacked by the spirit of Adolf Hitler. pic.twitter.com/syb9aqsFB6

— Mr. Olympian (@asianoppar) July 14, 2025

 PBS network, journalists, politicians, and numerous users joined the discussion – some with unequivocal condemnation, others attempting to turn the incident into bitter commentary about the state of social media.

Sesame Workshop, the organization operating Sesame Street, released an official statement explaining, "Elmo's account was hacked earlier by an unknown hacker who posted reprehensible messages, including antisemitic and racist content. We are working to restore full control of the account."

All problematic tweets were quickly deleted, but the damage was already done – hundreds of screenshots and thousands of responses made the incident viral and the number one trending topic. Public discourse continued bubbling far beyond social media boundaries.

The breach immediately became a political issue as well – not only due to the blatant antisemitism, but also because of direct attacks on Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Jeffrey Epstein affair – a charged topic that continues to roil American public opinion.

This all unfolds against the backdrop of ongoing battles over PBS funding – the public broadcasting network that operates Sesame Street – as the Trump administration recently pushed for significant federal funding cuts to the network, a move that sparked public and legal protests.

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What's in a name? Well, for Ji-Young, the newest muppet resident of "Sesame Street," her name is a sign she was meant to live there.

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"So, in Korean traditionally, the two syllables each mean something different and Ji means, like, smart or wise. And Young means, like, brave or courageous and strong," Ji-Young explained during a recent interview. "But we were looking it up and guess what? Ji also means sesame."

At only 7 years old, Ji-Young is making history as the first Asian American muppet in the "Sesame Street" canon. She is Korean American and has two passions: rocking out on her electric guitar and skateboarding. The children's TV program, which first aired 52 years ago this month, gave The Associated Press a first look at its adorable new occupant.

Ji-Young will formally be introduced in "See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special." Simu Liu, Padma Lakshmi, and Naomi Osaka are among the celebrities appearing in the special, which will drop Thanksgiving Day on HBO Max, "Sesame Street" social media platforms, and on local PBS stations.

Some of Ji-Young's personality comes from her puppeteer. Kathleen Kim, 41 and Korean American, got into puppetry in her 30s. In 2014, she was accepted into a "Sesame Street" workshop. That evolved into a mentorship and becoming part of the team the following year. Being a puppeteer on a show Kim watched growing up was a dream come true. But helping shape an original muppet is a whole other feat.

"I feel like I have a lot of weight that maybe I'm putting on myself to teach these lessons and to be this representative that I did not have as a kid," Kim said. But fellow puppeteer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph – who performs Abby Cadabby – reminded her, "It's not about us... It's about this message."

Ji-Young's existence is the culmination of a lot of discussions after the events of 2020 – George Floyd's death and anti-Asian hate incidents. Like a lot of companies, "Sesame Street" reflected on how it could "meet the moment," Kay Wilson Stallings, executive vice-president of Creative and Production for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind "Sesame Street," said.

Sesame Workshop established two task forces – one to look at its content and another to look at its own diversity. What developed was Coming Together, a multi-year initiative addressing how to talk to children about race, ethnicity, and culture.

One result was 8-year-old Tamir. While not the show's first black muppet, he was one of the first used to talk about subjects like racism.

"When we knew we were going to be doing this work that was going to focus on the Asian and Pacific Islanders experience, we of course knew we needed to create an Asian muppet as well," Stallings said.

These newer muppets – their personalities and their looks – were remarkably constructed in a matter of months. The process normally takes at least a couple of years. There are outside experts and a cross-section of employees known as the "culture trust" who weigh in on every aspect of a new muppet, Stallings said.

For Kim, it was crucial that Ji-Young not be "generically pan-Asian."

"Because that's something that all Asian Americans have experienced. They kind of want to lump us into this monolithic 'Asian,'" Kim said. "So it was very important that she was specifically Korean American, not just like, generically Korean, but she was born here."

One thing Ji-Young will help teach children is how to be a good "upstander." "Sesame Street" first used the term on its "The Power of We" TV special last year, which featured Tamir.

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That joke – sponsored by the letter A – is a highlight of the first original podcast from Sesame Street, featuring music, interactive games and Muppets galore.

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"The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley & Friends" is an offering on Audible that gives some screen-free educational entertainment to kids who may be having spotty school lessons during the coronavirus pandemic.

"We think it's so important to have this other medium besides screens for playful, fun, engaging episodes that are also curriculum driven and really address the important educational needs for young children," said Jennifer Schiffman Sanders, the director of content, education and research for Sesame Workshop.

The podcast is led by 6-year-old, exuberant Foley, "the sound-maker monster." She's joined by her sidekick, Mikee the Microphone, a microphone with googly eyes. Together they tell jokes, sing songs and host familiar guests from the neighborhood, like Elmo, Big Bird and Cookie Monster.

"Each podcast really focuses on school readiness skills," said Schiffman Sanders. "It also addresses really critical social emotional skills like resilience and kindness, which is something we could all use a little more of these days."

Each 15-minute episode will revolve around a different preschool-friendly topic, from vehicles and animals to birthdays and learning the alphabet. There are recurring moments, like "Elmo's Joke of the Day," songs and a game show.

"Today on the podcast we're going to be talking all about the alphabet," Foley says in the first episode. "I love those A, B, Cs," replies Mikee.

The first guest is someone who especially likes the letter B – Big Bird. The letters A, B and C also join ("we don't have room from D-Z," they argue) For the A, we hear alligator sounds and for B there are balloon sounds.

Schiffman Sanders previously taught pre-school and helped "Sesame Street" transition from a visually vibrant TV show to an aural experience.

"I kept remembering, 'OK, but if they can't see it, how can we bring it to life? What do we need to do to keep children engaged?'" she said.

Foley, a new character, is voiced by Lindsey "Z" Briggs, a professional puppeteer since 2004 who, with her puppeteer husband, Chad Williams, created the company WonderSpark Puppets. She previously gave life to the Muppet Dalia for Sesame Workshop.

"I've always loved making different voices," she said by phone from her family's home in Springville, New York. "My whole life, I was always making funny sounds."

Since her new gig is just voice work, Briggs doesn't have to worry about manipulating puppets, lip synching or coordinating with a TV monitor. "For me, it's super freeing," she said. "Not having to think about almost half of that stuff is awesome."

Briggs, as well as her husband and their two boys, 7 and 5, fled New York City during the lockdown to western New York. They've found an unusual place to create the podcast – their  town's fallout shelter. But they've made it work.

The podcast kicked off last week and there are 15 episodes, released Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sesame Workshop hopes families will listen together, whether in the car, making dinner or before bedtime.

"It's been an absolute bright spot in the midst of everything that's been happening. It's been this one thing that I can look at and say, 'But you know what? We did this amazing thing,'" Briggs said.

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