Elmo’s Long-Running Feud With His Inanimate ‘Sesame Street’ Nemesis Has Taken Over The Internet

UPDATE: Elmo has addressed the feud. See below. This is journalism now.

In case you can’t tell that we’ve all been trapped inside for way too long, the internet is losing its mind after recently discovering that John Oliver’s twin and lovable Muppet Elmo has been trapped in a brutal feud with Zoe’s pet rock, Rocco, on Sesame Street. To put it mildly, Elmo would fire the damn thing into the sun if he had the chance. As for how social media latched onto the battle of the ages, it’s all thanks to a random clip from the children’s program that shows Elmo losing his Muppet mind after Zoe refused to give him a cookie because Rocco wanted it. Elmo flipped, y’all.

— cheye (dr.booty) (@wumbooty) January 4, 2022

According to USA Today‘s For The Win, the feud between puppet and rock has been simmering for ages, and when it comes right down to it, poor Elmo is being gaslit:

Why does Elmo hate this rock

The rock is always getting in Elmo’s way, man. Zoe treats the rock like it’s an actual person on the show when we all know it’s not. It’s not a real person. It doesn’t need people things.

We know that. The kids know that. Elmo knows that. The only one who doesn’t know it is Zoe. She’s tripping, y’all. Elmo is right.

Despite Elmo clearly being psychologically tortured by an inanimate object, the internet had a freaking field day watching the little guy mentally die inside after being repeatedly forced to pretend that a pet rock is real. Who would do this to such a sweet, lovable friend like Elmo Yes, his voice is annoying and conjures up images of murder, but he knows what’s real and what isn’t, dammit.

— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) January 4, 2022

Zoe: Rocco says…

Elmo: pic.twitter.com/idYcJZTd3U