An episode of Sesame Street featuring comedian Ramy Youssef recently became the subject of criticism on Fox News. Since then, the comedian himself has responded to the criticism. This notably took place during an appearance on The View.
An Episode Of Sesame Street Where Ramy Youssef Met Elmo Became A Topic Of Discussion On The Ingraham Angle
Ramy Youssef is a stand-up comedian known for his Hulu comedy series, Ramy. He recently appeared on Sesame Street earlier this month as part of Arab American Heritage Month.
During the episode, Youssef met the character Elmo and taught him Arabic words. In particular, he taught him, “salamu alaykum.” In his own words, Youssef explained, “Salam means peace and it’s a way to say hello in Arabic.”
However, the episode has become the subject of criticism on Fox News. Notably, Raymond Arroyo spoke on The Ingraham Angle, saying, “I wish Sesame Street would stick to teaching kids about letters and numbers and leave the Arabic immersion to someone else.” He also joked, “Next, Bert and Ernie will be praying five times a day on Sesame Street, facing east.”
For his part, Youssef later appeared on The View, where he responded to the criticism. At the time, he shared, “I think they’re worried [about] Arabic immersion, and it’s got to be tough because I think they’re supporters of the president.”
The word of the day is HABIBI! Happy #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth from Ramy Youssef, Elmo, and all of your friends on Sesame Street! pic.twitter.com/Hc4BLcehEl
— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) April 16, 2026
Youssef Described The Experience Of Appearing On Sesame Street As ‘Surreal’ & ‘Emotional’
The comedian then pointed to a social media post about the Iran War where Trump shared, “Praise be to Allah.” He continued, “Imagine your president on Easter is tweeting, Praise be to Allah,’ and now Elmo saying ‘habibi’ feels threatening.”
Youssef also admitted to being surprised by the backlash since a lot of languages had been featured on the children’s show. He also shared that he was surprised since he had talked about controversial issues before without much backlash. However, as he noted, “Elmo saying habibi has set them off in a way that has never happened to me before.”
Ultimately, as noted by TV Insider, Youssef also noted that it was “surreal” being on the show, having grown up watching the New York-based series. Saying that it made him “emotional,” he also expressed happiness in sharing Arab American Heritage Month with Elmo.
What is your reaction to this recent story, from the Sesame Street episode to Ramy Youssef’s response on The View? Have you been following this story? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest TV and celebrity news.
John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.
