The Internet Is Trauma-Dumping on Elmo

“Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?” the account for the cheerful red monster innocently wrote Monday morning. It was the perfect setup for the cynics of Twitter/X.

The response to the question was a resounding and viral “not great!” From celebrities to brands and many other users across the platform, folks chimed in to share their despair with Hollywood’s most ticklish friend. Elmo trended up to number one on Twitter and still sits on the trending chart as of the writing of this article as people continue to discuss their woes. The tweet earned nearly 150M impressions.

From the ongoing war to corporate layoffs and a bleak-seeming election cycle, no trauma was too shallow nor too deep to share with young Elmo. “Honestly, Elmo, I need a hug,” wrote one user. “Oh Elmo, sweetheart, we are not doing well,” wrote another. “Elmo girl…I’m having a quarter-life crisis right now and I can’t get my [s–t] together to finish this last semester. I’m mentally burnt out and I have a lifetime of working to go,” said another user.

Celebrities took the moment to share their feelings and join the conversation too, with T-Pain tweeting, “I’m just looking for somebody to talk to and show me some love if you know what I mean” and Rachel Zegler writing, “resisting the urge to tell elmo that i am kinda sad.”

The thousands of replies got so dark that the official Sesame Street account eventually decided to put out a message, directing users toward mental health resources.

“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.”

After taking it all in yesterday, the Elmo account also made a statement today. “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing. Elmo will check in again soon, friends!  Elmo loves you. #EmotionalWellBeing.”

The Elmo trend comes on the heels of an already viral week for Sesame Street, as Big Bird has been trending each day as well due to the fact that he was, apparently shrunken down to be tiny for an entire week. The hashtag #HelpBigBird trended on Twitter/X for all seven days of the stunt.

As internet personalities Rhett and Link put it, “Elmo really said ‘let’s talk about that’ and was NOT ready for the results.”