Elmo is the first viral celebrity of 2022
Don't mess with a puppet and his cookie, I suppose.
Elmo, you know, the furry red fella from Sesame Street, went viral this week for clearly despising a rock. A clip of the puppet got passed around online, during which he loses his cool on Rocco, a pet rock, and his pal Zoe.
In the viral video, Zoe tries to give Rocco — who is her pet rock — the last oatmeal raisin cookie, which Elmo wanted. And, well, my little red friend wasn't having it. Here, watch for yourself.
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Look at the sass. Someone get that Muppet an oatmeal raisin cookie, stat. He deserves it and the rock can't even freaking eat it. What a waste. What is Rocco going to do with a cookie anyway?
It's pretty funny and relatable to see Elmo totally lose his cool. Granted the episode is from 2004, but as NPR points out, it feels very 2022. Who isn't a little frustrated going into Year 3 of the pandemic? Projecting our own frustrations onto a beloved puppet is a perfectly healthy coping mechanism.
It went so viral that Elmo himself commented on Twitter and reaffirmed his beef with Rocco.
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This viral video is part of an Elmo renaissance online. No seriously, Elmo is the clear viral star of the year thus far. (Yes, I know we're only five days in, but still.) Sassy Elmo is freaking everywhere.
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You can find the sound of the Rocco video on TikTok, along with a bunch of others. There's Elmo singing about a paper towel roll. Or Elmo "chugging along like a train." Or, my personal favorite, Elmo saying the words "balsamic vinegar" in a smooth Brooklyn-esque accent that comes out more like "bawl-some-ic vin-eh-guh."
It's not totally clear why Elmo is super popular online right now, especially on TikTok. As best I can tell, it started with the paper towel roll clip, which surfaced in mid-December of last year. People took sound and ran with it, with the general sentiment being that Elmo had no business going as hard as he did.
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From there, people dug up more clips of Elmo really hitting a phrase, like the aforementioned "bawl-some-ic vin-eh-guh" in a cooking segment with Jimmy Fallon. If I had to venture a theory, Elmo is taking off to start the year because everything begins and ends with TikTok these days. Elmo has a distinct voice, and the Muppet often says things with real oomph, which makes for good sounds for TikToks. Getting a sound shared widely is pretty much the recipe for virality in 2022.
Not to mention, the character has real sass and there's fun in juxtaposing adult jokes with a children's show. (Remember: Elmo is only canonically three-and-a-half years old.) And once something is viral on Tiktok, it'll instantly merge onto Twitter, and about a week later, Instagram. You'll probably see Elmo on Facebook in a month.
It's like most viral things: one viral moment inspired folks to dig for more. Over time, the context flattens and Elmo is viral because Elmo is viral, and that is all the logic you need.
Now, did I expect Elmo to be the most viral internet personality to start the new year? No, no I did not. But I welcome it.
Topics Viral Videos
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
