We all know Elmo, right? Cute red muppet. Lives on Sesame Street. Has a goldfish named Dorothy. Is a friend to all.
And we all know the state of the world currently, right? It’s, uh…it’s not good?
Well this week the canonically three-year-old monster decided to take to X to ask his 450k+ followers a simple question: how is everybody doing? Surely there was no way such an adorable ask could possibly backfire:
But, whew buddy, did that small action prove to be a recipe for disaster when poor, sweet Elmo quickly became inundated with all kinds of hilarious-but-honest responses. Needless to say *narrator voice* things were not good.
People were quick to comment and share their feelings with the fuzzy lil’ guy—at times a little too candidly:
Some used the opportunity to reference timely celebrity feuds:
And heck, some celebrities themselves even got in on it:
Still, while some expressed their own sorrows, others instantly became worried for Elmo (and Elmo’s social media team), who’d unknowingly opened Pandora’s box:
The chaos was so intense, it eventually led Sesame Street’s official X account to tweet out the following resources:
But, at the end of it all, Elmo was still sweet and smiling, reminding us that—no matter how difficult it may be to hear the true answer—it’s always worth asking your friends how they’re doing:
So, if nothing else, let this be a sign to give your friend a call to check in on them—and, for goodness sake, let’s give Elmo a break.