Sesame Street has been a beloved children’s show that’s been in our lives for literal decades, and will most likely be around for many more decades to come. Over the years, we’ve seen so many celebrity guests come and go. While some make sense, others have left us scratching our heads as to why they were even asked to go on the show in the first place. Unfortunately, some of these guest star choices have aged poorly, which still leaves us questioning.
James Gandolfini
We all know the late James Gandolfini for playing the iconic role of Tony Soprano on The Sopranos. What many have forgotten about? That one time he was on Sesame Street back in 2002. Of course, when he made his guest appearance, there was no talk of Tony Soprano. Instead, he helped Zoe with her fear of loud noises by talking about things that he’s afraid of himself, like the dark, haircuts, and giant talking veggies.
Mel Gibson
Over the years, Mel Gibson has had a number of controversies with both his work and his personal life. Looking at it now, it seems like a poor choice that he appeared on Sesame Street a handful of times. In the early 90s, he was in a number of sketches, the first one he ever appeared in was “Monsterpiece Theater” in 1992. Despite what we know about him now, he was actually really enjoyable on the show.
Chris Brown
Much like Mel Gibson, Chris Brown is another choice that has aged poorly. Back in 2007, he appeared on an episode of Season 38 where he sang “See the Signs” with Elmo. He also appeared in a second episode that same season, where he helped demonstrate the word “disappear.”
Sesame Street made the decision to remove the episode that Chris Brown was on after he was arrested for domestic violence against his then-girlfriend Rihanna. The song was also removed from the show’s website. Knowing what we know now about Chris Brown, it seems like producers made the right choice.
Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby has gone from America’s Dad to a disgraced former actor really quickly. After a number of victims came forward to accuse him of sexual assault, he was sentenced to ten years in prison. He went on to serve three years of the sentence before his sentence was overturned in 2021 by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Cosby actually appeared on several episodes of Sesame Street and even had a recurring role.
Ricky Gervais
Actor and comedian Ricky Gervais is known for making some seriously crude jokes that are definitely not appropriate for children. Nevertheless, he was on Sesame Street’s 40th season twice, where he sang a celebrity lullaby about the letter “N” to Elmo. He also did the word of the day with Grover, where they talked about the word “stumble.” At least he made sure he was on his best behavior for his big Sesame Street debut.
Sesame Street has been on the air for literal decades and has seen its fair share of celebrity guests. While some of these former guest stars seem like questionable choices now, they weren’t at the time. In the future, there will probably be even more choices that will make us wonder why they would even be a choice to appear on the beloved children’s show.
