My Very Gonzo Life

A conversation with Dave Goelz, the man who for nearly 50 years has served as the voice and puppeteer of Gonzo — the pain-loving, dare-deviling, chicken-dating, Charles Dickens-impersonating, furry blue star of the Muppets

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13 Regrettable Muppet-Celebrity Collaborations

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13 Regrettable Muppet-Celebrity Collaborations

Sesame Street and The Muppet Show have had countless celebrity guest appearances over the years. So it’s bound to happen that one or two (or almost a dozen) of these once-beloved famous folks were later found to be complete monsters. We wonder if these shows had (or still have) a producer whose sole job is to follow the latest celebrity cancellations, and decide on whether their guest appearance needs to be erased from the history books. Sure, kids can learn the alphabet from Bill Cosby, but then their parents might have to field questions like, “Who’s that guy?” and “What else is he known for?”

Don’t get us wrong, it’s not always a case of celebrity wrongdoing. Sometimes the muppets themselves are to blame. After all, they were created and voiced by adults, and sometimes adults do adult things. All we can say is, when you exist in the realm of children’s entertainment, lock it the fuck up and act right! So whether the muppet or the celebrity was at fault, here are 13 very regrettable muppet-celebrity collaborations.

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We don’t like verbally abusing 11 year-olds on Sesame Street, Alec.

GRACKED ALEC BALDWIN WAS ONLY NICE TO KIDS WHEN THE CAMERAS WERE ROLLING. In 2007, Baldwin appeared on Sesame Street to educate kids about tricycles. Months later, a tape of him verbally abusing his 11-year-old daughter surfaced.

Salon / ABC 

Locking someone in your office is kidnapping, homeboy. Or false imprisonment. Either way.

GRACKED WITH PEOPLE AND MUPPETS, MATT LAUER WAS AN ALL-AROUND CREEP. TO Не had many segments with The Muppets, including Miss Piggy popping out of a cake, singing flirtatiously, and getting a kiss from Lauer. Не was fired in 2017 for multiple rape allegations, and a button in his desk that locked women in his office with him.

Fandom  / People / WSJ 

Helpful at the time, but actually pretty controversial overall.

GRACKED MICHAEL JACKSON WAS BOTH HELPFUL AND HURTFUL TO SESAME STREET. Northern Songs (who owned the Beatles' catalog) sued Sesame Street because Hey Food was too close to Hey Jude. Jackson bought the catalog and dropped the charges. The pedophilia accusations against him still taints his appearance for sure though.

Fandom / Singers Room 

We bet The Muppet Show wishes they had asked literally anyone else to stand in.

GRACKED CHRIS LANGHAM WAS THE MOST REGRETTABLE SUBSTITUTE. The staff writer on The Muppet Show stepped in as a guest when Richard Pryor dropped out. In 2007, he was arrested for possessing child pornography, and his episode has been removed from every streaming app and TV broadcast.

EW / Independent 

Swearing is nothing, Julia. The Elmo you were working with abused underage boys!

GRACKED JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS SWORE IN FRONT OF ELMO. In an outtake of her 1994 scene with Elmo and Zoe, she flubs a line and utters an audible S**t. Elmo, staying in character, acknowledges that she said a bad word, and asks her for $5 for the swear jar.

NY Post / NY Post 

It’s okay Sesame Street, pretty much everyone else regrets working with him too.

GRACKED BILL COSBY ON SESAME STREET. Не appeared in 14 episodes from 1970 to 1990, including a 1989 appearance for their 20th anniversary. The earliest drugging and sexual assault accusation (of the 60+ total women) dates back to 1965.

Youtube / LA Times / TCM 

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