CPAC banned “Sesame Street” characters like Elmo, Big Bird, Bert and Ernie from its 2022 GOP conference Thursday, after the Muppets endorsed vaccinations for children — and Jimmy Kimmel had a field day mercilessly mocking the move on late-night TV.
“The latest thing that the anti-cancel crowd wants to cancel is ‘Sesame Street,’” Kimmel said during his Thursday “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” monologue. “Big Bird endorsed vaccinations for kids, and that made everybody mad. So now the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, announced via Twitter that Elmo is not invited to their festivities next year. Elmo is out and so are Big Bird, Bert and Ernie. I love that they think this is clever somehow. But it did get me thinking about which Muppet is the most likely to be a conservative, and I narrowed it down to three.”
“It’s either Sam the Eagle, or one of these two,” Kimmel continued, showing a picture of Statler and Waldorf, the cantankerous old guys best known for sitting in a balcony and making fun of the other Muppets. “I mean, tell me they’re not senators from Oklahoma,” he joked.
On Nov. 6, Big Bird tweeted from his official account that he had received the COVID-19 vaccine, adding that it would give his body “an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy” following an episode of “Sesame Street” devoted to making kids feel safe about getting vaccinated. This came in the wake of the FDA approving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 and up.
Kimmel joked that while CPAC has banned most Muppets from the Feb. 24-27 Republican party conference, Miss Piggy (or Sen. Ted Cruz, per Kimmel’s photo) is “still invited, especially after she did so great at last year’s event.”
Cruz has himself been mocked for criticizing Big Bird for urging kids to get vaccinated against COVID-19, calling the use of the “Sesame Street” character to educate children about the vaccine “government propaganda.”
Kimmel then joked that CPAC’s “Sesame Street” ban is ultimately going to be unnecessary, because he thinks Rep. Matt Gaetz’s presence would make it impossible for children to attend.
“The truth is, ‘Sesame Street’ wouldn’t have been allowed to be there anyway because by next year, it seems likely Matt Gaetz will be a convicted sex offender,” Kimmel said.
Watch Kimmel’s full Thursday monologue via the video above.
See CPAC’s Thursday tweets banning “Sesame Street” characters from the 2022 GOP conference below.