“resisting the urge to tell elmo that i am kinda sad,” wrote the actress Rachel Zegler.
Many others did not resist that urge, writing about seasonal depression in a never-ending winter, a deadly war that’s potentially widening in the Middle East, losing their jobs amid mass layoffs in tech and other sectors and a heartbreaking playoff defeat just before the Super Bowl.
“We’ve been better, Elmo,” wrote the Detroit Free Press, in response to the Detroit Lions falling to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game after leading by 17.
While there was plenty of banter among the responses, the overall tone also reflected a sense of hopelessness that appears to be common.
The widespread engagement comes during a growing mental health crisis affecting millions across the country and world, as half of U.S. adults report being lonely and more and more people see the mental health of those around them deteriorating. In 2022, the U.S. launched the 988 suicide hotline that connects callers directly to trained crisis counselors as one way of addressing the issue.
After millions of views, Sesame Street’s official account replied with links to mental health resources. As suicide has become a leading cause of death among people aged 10-14, Sesame Workshop has sought to address the mental health of children and their families in videos, podcasts and courses.
“Thank you, @Elmo, for checking in with a reminder for us to pause and take a mindful moment to focus on how we’re feeling,” Sesame Street’s official account wrote. “For #EmotionalWellbeing resources and more, visit @SesameWorkshop: http://sesame.org/mentalhealth.”
Well-known brands from Chipotle and Shake Shack to Firefox and Sony Pictures responded, too, with an eye toward marketing deals to saddened users who could use a burrito or a shake or … the internet. Sesame Street characters, including Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster (who complained that he would be better if he had more cookies) and Big Bird, joined the dreadful fun, too.
“Grouchy …,” Oscar’s account wrote, fittingly.
Sesame Workshop, Sesame Street’s parent company, did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
Other celebrities joined in, too, including singer Dionne Warwick and T-Pain, who referenced lyrics to his song “Bartender.”
“I’m just looking for somebody to talk to and show me some love if you know what I mean,” the singer wrote.
A smaller number of users wrote that they were, surprisingly, actually, doing well, as Chance The Rapper did to the amazement of his followers.
“Honestly, I’m in a really good place rn,” wrote the artist born Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, using the abbreviation for right now.
But that kind of response was the exception, as the fluffy red character was inundated with doom and gloom.
On Tuesday, Elmo followed up, saying he’d check in with everyone again soon.
“Wow! Elmo is glad he asked,” Elmo wrote. “Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing.”
Elmo, famous from the Elmo on fire meme known as Elmo Rise or Elmo Fire perhaps was the most logical Sesame Street character to spawn this type of response. The meme, which shows him with his arms raised against a backdrop of flames, can be used to express chaos, anger or feeling overwhelmed by, well, everything.
As one user pointed out with an image of the meme, “The world is burning around us.”
That about sums it up, Elmo.
