The days are not always sunny on Sesame Street, but it seems to be even more entertaining that way. Everyone’s new favorite muppet Elmo has been going viral lately, and it’s all thanks to his pals Zoe and Rocco. Rocco was introduced in Season 30 in 1998-99 as Zoe's pet rock and clips are just beginning to resurface of how Elmo really feels about him.
More than 15 years after the viral clips aired in the early 2000s, one person's reaction has pretty much jumpstarted the Internet's love of Elmo's hilarious behavior toward the pet rock. And now he has responded to his newfound fame.
Clips have been surfacing on Twitter and on TikTok of the red Muppet getting a little upset at Zoe and how she’s treating Rocco like an actual person. And quite frankly, it may be the best thing to hit the Internet in a while. Elmo took to Twitter to respond to the clips, clearing up that he and Zoe are still best friends, though Rocco is a different story:
Don't worry everybody! Elmo and Zoe practiced sharing and are still best buds forever! Elmo loves you Zoe! Ha ha ha!Elmo doesn't want to talk about Rocco.January 5, 2022
While it’s nice of Elmo to clear the air, some people just aren’t buying it. One user brought up a clip of Elmo snapping when he wasn’t able to say the number of the day because of Rocco and it’s pretty hilarious:
This you Elmo? Lol pic.twitter.com/xpOJyAGg3nJanuary 5, 2022
A lot of the replies on Elmo’s tweet are just people posting their favorite videos of him, Zoe, and Rocco, including this short but funny one when Rocco had to do his business:
This is still my favorite Elmo X Rocco clip pic.twitter.com/wluW76oXDBJanuary 6, 2022
We aren’t even a week into 2022 but fans are already declaring Elmo vs. Rocco as the best thing to happen this year:
Elmo vs Rocco is THEE best thing about 2022 pic.twitter.com/Bd6L5icIpBJanuary 5, 2022
As if that wasn’t enough, following a viral video of Elmo getting upset that Zoe was saving a cookie for Rocco, Elmo subtly asked on Twitter the one question we’ve all been dying to know the answer to:
Has anybody ever seen a rock eat a cookie? Elmo is just curious.January 5, 2022
Being so young when I watched Sesame Street, I don't particularly remember Rocco, but if I had, I know that I would have loved it. And I’m not the only one who is finding it hard to believe that the “Elmo’s World” star has turned out like this:
Tears is not the word. Am I the only one who don’t remember Elmo being like this 😭😭? LMAO pic.twitter.com/c8SHX35haPJanuary 6, 2022
One user is hoping to claim Elmo’s energy for the entirety of 2022:
The way @elmo refuses to let Zoey gaslight him is the kind of energy I'm bringing to 2022.January 5, 2022
Perhaps the best response is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson casually telling Elmo he’s coming and he’s ready to eat all the cookies in sight:
Yes, my friend. This Rock devours cookies. All kinds of cookies 😈🍪 I’ll introduce you to #CheatMeals and it’ll change your life. Tell Cookie Monster to move it over, cuz I’m coming to Sesame Street to kick ass and eat cookies. And I’m almost all outta cookies.~ Rock 🐂 https://t.co/BjlZciRqxUJanuary 6, 2022
2022 is getting off to an unexpected start when it comes to viral videos, and I would never have imagined that it would be because of Elmo being a savage to his friend. These aren’t the only videos that have gone viral, as it’s been revealed he has quite the New York accent in some clips. At the time of the Rocco videos, he was voiced by Baltimore native Kevin Clash from 1985-2012, who was replaced by Ryan Dillon in 2013.
Elmo remains an iconic part of the Sesame Street cast of Muppets, and going viral because of Rocco probably means that plenty of adults are fans of him now as well as kids.
