Elmo and Jalen Brunson are cool.
The iconic “Sesame Street” character came under fire from Knicks fans earlier this month after posting a video on his official social media account that read, “Elmo hopes both teams have fun!” It has four basketball emojis referring to the NBA playoff series between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs.
Elmo’s Fair Weather message racked up 27 million views on X, with fans slamming the furry red monster for not choosing sides and displaying a lack of media literacy.
One user responded, “You’re a rotten person fueled by resentment, ego, and emotional dysfunction.” “They imitate confidence, manipulate for attention, and drag others into chaos because the only thing they know how to spread is misery. Fuck you, Elmo.”
Elmo tried to take back his comment, writing, “That last message was rubbish! Elmo didn’t mean to provoke you!” He also told E! Red Carpet News “Elmo Learns Not to Pick Favorites for Online Consumption.”
However, the backlash did not subside. Millions of New Yorkers flooded the city after the Knicks accomplished the impossible and defeated the Spurs in Game 5 on June 13th. And it quickly became clear that the win didn’t exactly repair the “Sesame Street” star’s reputation. In a particularly unusual fallout of the viral outbreak, a video circulating online shows a Knicks fan placing a mock-up Elmo head on a pike atop a cardboard sign that reads “Traitor.”
The next day, Cookie Monster tries to restore his friend’s reputation by writing to X, “Elmo taught me not to eat trophies. I taught Elmo to pick a team.”
Still, it was Branson who remained calm and showed Elmo some forgiveness. During the Knicks’ official championship ticker tape parade on Thursday, Variety captured footage of the team captain standing next to the NBA championship trophy on a float, holding up and kissing a stuffed Elmo holding a cardboard sign that read, “Please forgive me.”
During an interview on “CBS Morning,” Gayle King asked Brunson why he chose to walk away without saying a word after Spurs star Victor Wembaneyama committed what he called a “blatant foul,” and the Knicks captain offered a glimpse of the Mamba mentality that characterizes Brunson’s character.
“It was definitely a spur-of-the-moment thing, but whatever it is, in that moment, you have to understand what you’re doing and what your main goal and focus is,” he explained. “I always had the ability to keep my balance. Never too high, never too low. That prepared me for the situation.”
If Brunson can move on from Wembangyama and Elmo, it might be time for New York to do the same.
