Today in OFFS.

Just a bit ago I checked my Twitter feed and saw this:



Naturally I was a bit curious as to why Sesame Street was releasing a "statement". That always sounds ominous, doesn't it? I'm vaguely aware of Katy Perry, mostly because of her first (that I know of) apparent hit "I Kissed A Girl" and because that had nothing to do with the version of of the song that I'm familiar with.

I am much more aware of Sesame Street, of course, both because I watched it as a kid and I've watched it here and there for the past ten years due to my own kids watching it. One thing I've always liked about the show was the pairing of musicians and the show with the artists rewriting their songs to fit in a segment for the show. You know, perhaps I can blame Sesame Street for my love of covers and mash-ups...but I digress... So Katy Perry + Sesame Street = Need For Statement. Hmmm.

So I clicked over to read the statement:

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 light of the feedback we’ve received on the Katy Perry music video which was released on You Tube only, we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of Sesame Street, which is aimed at preschoolers. Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on KatyPerry.com.

Now, even little as I know about Ms. Perry, I'm aware she can be provocative. But on Sesame Street? Really? I wouldn't think Sesame Workshop would produce a segment that's inappropriate to air, no matter the celebrity involved. I mean, they have been doing this a long time--they rather seem to know what they're doing. Obviously, some parents disagree. So let's check out the video:




Now, I'm pretty strict about what my kids are allowed to watch. Heck, just yesterday my reasoning was called silly and ridiculous--that I was "over thinking"--in part because of my ban on (most) Disney movies. I'm, apparently, over protective. Or something. But this video "inappropriate"? Certainly not for any of the reasons of Outrage!™ I saw on the Facebook comment page, namely that Katy Perry wasn't wearing enough dress. This apparently was so shocking that the show received enough hate mail that they pulled the segment from airing. Know what Outraged Parents? Many women have boobs. They're simply part of the body--and like swinging arms or flying hair, they might move when someone runs around. Little kids? They don't really care or even notice. Ms. Perry wasn't doing anything "adult" in the video. She was running around and playing with Elmo. OFFS.

Now, I conceed that I think might be inappropriate simply because it's a terrible song and the whole thing is all very meh. Sorry, Sesame Workshop, but you've done much better. Katy Perry's cleavage, however, had nothing to do with it.