Sesame Street sparks backlash with Pride Month post

Conservative social media users over the past two days slammed the children’s television program Sesame Street for its annual Pride Month post. The show’s social media accounts on June 1 posted an illustration of muppet arms linked together in a rainbow pattern. The caption celebrating Pride Month said, “On our street, everyone is welcome,” and urged viewers to love and respect every person and family’s sexual preferences and identities. Sesame Street previously posted the same image with a similar caption for Pride Month in 2023, sparking mixed reactions. 

The Facebook version of the Sesame Street post seemed to generate more positive comments than the version on X. One woman received about 5,000 likes on her comment defending the show’s approach. She said children live in many different kinds of families including those with two moms or two dads.

How did conservatives react? Among the post’s critics was Daily Wire host Michael Knowles, who characterized the message as promoting sexual agendas to children. His response garnered 1.4 million views on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Heritage Foundation questioned why the Public Broadcasting Service, which distributes Sesame Street, still argues it should receive taxpayer dollars. The White House recently cut funding to PBS, calling it a biased media source.

Sesame Street had not responded to the social media backlash as of Tuesday.

Dig deeper: Read Carl Trueman’s World Opinions piece on a more low-key Pride Month.