Elmo’s innocuous check-in is met with ‘existential dread’ and mental health crises

Elmo probably did not expect the internet to unload its mental health struggles on him when he tweeted “How is everybody doing?” on Monday. Television Why Elmo and Cookie Monster made cameos in ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Westworld’ HBO and “Sesame Street” nailed the mash-up game on Thursday by turning Elmo into a peace-broker on “Game of Thrones” and casting Cookie Monster as the newest — if not strangest — visitor to “Westworld.” It’s likely that the beloved childhood character — and the person running his social media account — were overwhelmed by the response to Elmo’s vibe check, prompting a follow-up tweet from the muppet the next day. Elmo loves you.❤️ #EmotionalWellBeing pic.twitter.com/jhn2LNKfHf — Elmo January 30, 2024 The floodgates Elmo’s tweet opened also got “Sesame Street’s” nonprofit parent organization Sesame Workshop to tweet out emotional well-being resources, as well as other encouraging tweets from Elmo’s colorful neighbors. Today and everyday, let’s #HelpEachOther!” In a Wednesday statement to The Times, Sesame Workshop — the “grown-ups helping Elmo” — elaborated on its longtime mission of helping children “grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.” “Leveraging the interest in Elmo’s tweet to posting the quote tweet from ‘Sesame Street’ with emotional wellbeing resources is exactly what Sesame Workshop was created to do,” said Aaron Bisman, Sesame Workshop’s vice president of audience development. Elmo’s viral check-in also got the attention of President Biden, who attempted to motivate struggling Americans by invoking “Sesame Street’s” theme song.