“Ms. Taylor Swift… you have got to be kidding Elmo,” the iconic “Sesame Street” character wrote in an X post on Friday morning.
The post arrived nearly three hours after Swift released the music video for “Opalite,” off her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Hundreds of users flooded Elmo’s mentions, baffled by his outburst. “Elmo, why are you upset with Taylor?” one user pried. Another simply asked: “What’d she do?”
Ms. Taylor Swift…you have got to be kidding Elmo.
While Elmo chose not to elaborate, his frustration with the Grammy-winning singer likely stemmed from a specific detail in the “Opalite” video.
The video, currently exclusive to Apple Music and Spotify Premium before its YouTube debut on Sunday, Feb. 8, is a ’90s-themed romantic comedy. The plot centers on a magical spray, aptly dubbed “Opalite,” that turns lonely, object-obsessed characters into couples.
Keeping that in mind, Swift plays a woman dating a pet rock. She treats the large gray stone as a partner, taking it to karaoke and crafting a “FRIENDS4EVER” friendship bracelet for it.
Longtime fans of “Sesame Street” know that the red monster has deep-seated beef with a certain pet rock on the longstanding children’s show.
Elmo’s friend Zoe has a pet rock named Rocco. Introduced in Season 30, Rocco has been a recurring thorn in Elmo’s side, primarily because Zoe insists on treating the inanimate object like a real person with feelings.
Elmo has aired his frustrations with Rocco on “Sesame Street” multiple times, calling the mineral “just a rock” that is “not alive” and “doesn’t have a mouth”. In one episode, Elmo exploded when Zoe claimed Rocco wanted to eat a cookie, questioning how a rock could eat.
Seeing Swift treat a rock as a partner in her latest project appears to have sent Elmo into a spiral. This marks a rare rift in their relationship.
The beloved character has been a strong supporter of Swift’s work in the past. In October 2023, when Swift released her album “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” Elmo showed his support in an X post. “Cause Elmo will never go out of style. Yeah baby! #1989TaylorsVersion,” he penned, including an image of a Polaroid of Elmo that was marked “Est. 1980.”
Kelly Corbett is a Trending News Reporter for syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. She covers a wide range of topics from celebrity and TV news to store closings and product recalls. In addition to syracuse.com,…
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