The Right Is Outraged Over Big Bird's Take on Vaccines

'Sesame Street' characters get vaccinated against COVID-19
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 9, 2021 12:35 AM CST
Ted Cruz Slams Big Bird's Vaccine 'Propaganda'
Sesame Street's Big Bird participates in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building in honor of Sesame Street's 50th anniversary on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, in New York.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

It's conservatives vs. Sesame Street: Some on the right are decidedly unhappy with the stance the children's television show has taken on the coronavirus vaccine. "I got the COVID-19 vaccine today!" tweeted the account for the character of Big Bird, who is depicted as a 6-year-old, soon after the vaccine was made available to 5- to 11-year-olds. "My wing is feeling a little sore, but it'll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy." He added that he just found out he's "been getting vaccines since I was a little bird. I had no idea!" Rosita, a Muppet who is depicted as a 5-year-old, also got vaccinated on CNN. Cue outrage, NPR reports:

  • Ted Cruz: "Government propaganda…for your 5 year old!" Cruz tweeted. A perusal of his Twitter timeline shows he's since continued tweeting about Big Bird for days.

  • Mike Cernovich: "What’s the treatment for myocarditis in birds?" he tweeted, a reference to a rare vaccine side effect. Robby Starbuck tweeted along the same lines, and then got even darker.
  • Steve Cortes: "This kind of propaganda is actually evil," he tweeted. "Your children are not statistically at risk, and should not be pressured into a brand new treatment. Do Not Comply!"
  • Lisa Boothe: "Brainwashing children who are not at risk from COVID. Twisted," she tweeted.
  • Lavern Spicer: "Big Bird & Elmo are at least a step UP from Fauci, but using them to push the drug is just as reprehensible nonetheless," she tweeted.
There are a lot more where those came from, some of them obscenity-laced. Meanwhile, plenty of other big names in the government, media, and showbiz were applauding Big Bird, and quite a few pointed out that he's been getting vaccinated since the 1970s and wondering why it's suddenly considered propaganda. MSNBC confirms that the 1971 measles vaccine episode appeared to make not a single wave back when it aired. (More coronavirus vaccine stories.)

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