June 5, 2025
The attack on Sesame Street continues as far-right wing supporters and politicians accuse the show of grooming due to inclusive post.
The attack on Sesame Street continues as far-right supporters and politicians accuse the show of grooming, due to inclusive posts.
Sesame Street‘s official account on X celebrated pride month with an inclusive post. The post emphasized tolerance and community building. The post did not speak with profanities nor raise the topic of sexual identity. Yet, many have taken offense to the inclusion of “Happy #PrideMonth!” in the caption.
The post read: “On our street, everyone is welcome. Together, let’s build a world where every person and family feels loved and respected for who they are. Happy #PrideMonth!”
Many comments under the post accuse the company of grooming children while others question the presence of “gay sex” in a children’s program. Attacks on the children’s show are not new. The Trump administration has made it a priority to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a media entity that, according to Trump, supports “fake news.” As the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) is under the umbrella of the CPB and PBS host Sesame Street, ire from right-wing Trump supporters has grown for the nearly 60-year-old program.
The CPB receives the bulk of its funding through the government via Congress. Though the president has no regular power over the fiscal decisions of the governing body, he has found a loophole. On June 3, the Government Executive reported on the Trump administration’s plans to submit a spending cuts proposal or “recissions” to the Republican-controlled Congress. The administration is requesting a $1.1 billion dollar budget cut.
Approval of the cuts requires a simple majority. Thus, allowing the administration to legally defund the public service. Trump has attempted to strip funds from the organization via executive order prior to this tactic. As the legal authority does not lie within his purview, the administration was hit with a lawsuit by PBS Minnesota.
“Congress took pains to ensure that the development of public television would be free from political interference, including with respect to content and funding decisions,” the suit states.
Furthermore, the company denounced attempts from the government to pull funding based on content like Sesame Street.
“PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest possible terms,” the lawsuit states. “But regardless of any policy disagreements over the role of public television, our Constitution and laws forbid the President from serving as the arbiter of the content of PBS’s programming, including by attempting to defund PBS.”
The fate of PBS and other public broadcasting entities has yet to be decided, though the attacks and claims of “woke” bias continue.
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