“Sesame Street” Nixes Katy Perry Video After Cleavage Complaints

Pop star's dress-up choice a turn off for kid show's critics

Sesame Street doesn’t want to play with Katy Perry anymore.

Producers of the kid-friendly staple have sided with critics who wrote in complaining about Perry’s cleavage in a Sesame Street spoof music video posted online ahead of its planned Sept. 27 PBS broadcast, E! Online reported.

In the “Hot N Cold” video, which garnered nearly a million views on YouTube until Sesame Workshop pulled it Thursday, Perry, 24, alters the lyrics of her hit song to make it about Elmo’s indifference to playing dress-up with her.

Perry is seen chasing the beloved red Sesame Street character while clad in a low-cut, pea-green dress and a wedding veil, a juxtaposition some grown-ups called inappropriate for pre-schoolers.

"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," Sesame Workshop said in a statement on Thursday. "Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on YouTube.

 The statement continued:

Sesame Street has a long history of working with celebrities across all genres, including athletes, actors, musicians and artists. Sesame Street has always been written on two levels, for the child and adult. 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 care-giver. We also value our viewer's opinions and particularly those of parents.

In the end, the pressure was too much for Sesame Workshop, which pulled the video from its YouTube channel.

But Katy Perry fans don’t fret.

On Thursday, she reposted the vid, tweeting: “Wow, looks like my play date with Elmo has been cut short! If you still wanna play see it at www.katyperry.com Tag you're it, Elmo!”

Selected Reading: E!, Katy Perry, Us
 

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