When Ramy Youssef paid a visit to Sesame Street earlier this month, he celebrated Arab American Heritage Month by teaching Elmo certain Arabic words on the children’s show. After the episode aired, conservative critics slammed the segment.
Fox News’ Raymond Arroyo spoke out about his frustrations with the program. “I wish Sesame Street would stick to teaching kids about letters and numbers and leave the Arabic immersion to someone else,” he said on The Ingraham Angle. “Next, Bert and Ernie will be praying five times a day on Sesame Street, facing east.”
Youssef later appeared on The View and addressed the backlash from Republicans. “I think they’re worried [about] Arabic immersion, and it’s got to be tough because I think they’re supporters of the president,” Youssef explained. He then pointed out that Donald Trump wrote, “Praise be to Allah” on an April 5 social media post about the Iran War, adding, “Imagine your president on Easter is tweeting, Praise be to Allah,’ and now Elmo saying ‘habibi’ feels threatening.”
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
The comedian admitted he was “surprised” by the backlash because “there’s been a lot of languages on Sesame Street and there’s been no backlash to those.” He also pointed out that he’s always been outspoken about controversial issues, including the conflict between Israel and Palestine, with no widespread response, but “Elmo saying habibi has set them off in a way that has never happened to me before.”
Despite the controversy, Youssef said it was “surreal” to be on Sesame Street. “You grow up watching Elmo, you know?” he shared. “And so for Elmo to say ‘salamu alaykum,’ for Elmo to say ‘habibi,’ I was very emotional.
During his Sesame Street appearance, Youssef taught Elmo what ‘salamu alaykum’ means, telling the puppet, “Salam means peace and it’s a way to say hello in Arabic.” He also said to viewers, “I’m so proud of my Arab American heritage and I’m so happy to share this month with my fellow Arabs and Elmo.”
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