A pro-vaccine tweet from Big Bird ruffled Ted Cruz’s feathers, but it’s not the first time a Republican has been anti-muppet
It’s not unusual for Ted Cruz to levy a dyspeptic jeremiad against “government propaganda” or denigrate his political enemies as “petty authoritarians who would deny you the right to make your own medical choices” or “puppet[s] … with a hand inserted up their backside”. But the Republican senator’s target this time was an actual puppet – the 8ft 2in (249 cm) beloved yellow Big Bird, whose innocuous tweet about inoculations inspired a round of puppet-sneering from America’s conservative culture warriors.
Anti-Sesame Street fervor is not exactly new, as I learned during my nearly two year stint there as a lowly production assistant. People had a problem with everything from Bert and Ernie’s sexuality, that time Cookie Monster tried to eat healthier, and the introduction of an HIV positive muppet named Kami. Apparently not everyone was on board with the company’s mission to help kids grow “stronger, smarter, and kinder”.
