‘Sesame Street’ Pulls Controversial Katy Perry Duet

Sesame Street began previewing its 41st season on the Web this week, releasing teaser clips featuring stars like Jude Law and Colin Farrell that will guest star on the hit show.

With the clip releases, controversy soon followed, but not for Kermit, or even Farrell. Katy Perry and her two-and-a-half minute video singing a reworked version of her 2008 hit “Hot N Cold” with Elmo is the subject at hand. But why?

It seems viewers [confirmed to be mostly female parental guardians], say that Perry’s outfit wasn’t appropriate for a show geared toward children ages one to six. Comments surfaced the web, one stating “I do not want my five year old looking at [that]!” But Perry wasn’t actually half-naked — her outfit featured a flesh-colored mesh top that went all the way up to her neck! So what’s the problem? Apparently her natural body shape it seems!

Producers have decided to pull the song from the broadcast version of the program. The clip will remain online at KatyPerry.com, however, so the singer’s more mature fans can watch it. “‘Sesame Street’ has always been written on two levels, for the child and adult,” reads a statement from the show. “We use parodies and celebrity segments to interest adults in the show because we know that a child learns best when co-viewing with a parent or caregiver. We also value our viewers’ opinions and particularly those of parents. In light of the feedback we’ve received on the Katy Perry music video, which was released on YouTube only, we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of ‘Sesame Street,’ which is aimed at preschoolers.”

Neither Perry nor her representatives have issued any statements about the video being pulled from the show. What are your opinions of this? Should the song have been declined due to viewer dislikes of Perry’s natural looks? I say no!