‘Fired Big Bird’ takes wing after Romney debate comment
The unemployment rate on Sesame Street may soon skyrocket. (Image by @FiredBigBird)
Picking the winner of the first Obama-Romney presidential event is a partisan endeavor, but a comment by the Republican candidate has one faux celebrity crying fowl.
Childhood friend to many, Big Bird, whose very livelihood was threatened in the Wednesday night debate, was quickly defended by a sharp-beaked anonymous tweeter.
“Somewhere Paul Ryan is kicking over trash cans in hopes of smoking out Oscar the Grouch,” tweeted @FiredBigBird shortly after Romney vowed to cut funding to PBS, the station that airs the puppet bird’s educational show “Sesame Street.”
Within minutes, the Twitter account had thousands of followers. FiredBigBird had more than 26,000 followers within 12 hours. Other Twitter users sent more than 17,000 tweets a minute mentioning Big Bird.
The imposter kept clucking.
“Mitt Romney will end Burt and Ernie’s right to a civil union.”
He even hinted at getting more politically active with a “Herman Cain / Big Bird 2016″ tweet.
Meanwhile, the real Sesame Street gang tried to put out the fire by tweeting, “We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. We do not comment on campaigns, but we’re happy we can all agree that everyone likes Big Bird!”
Despite the protestations, I don’t think the 8-foot-2-inch puppet has to worry. He’s been around since 1969 and surely, after starring in thousands of television shows, he has a giant nest egg.
Here’s what Romney said at durring the debate.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
71 comments Add your comment
Online Fallout from the First Presidential Debate | E & V Group
October 5th, 2012
12:06 pm
[...] about the Sesame Street icon. In addition to these tweets, parody Twitter accounts began to pop up. @FiredBigBird earned more than 26,000 followers in 12 [...]
have some fun...
October 5th, 2012
12:26 pm
sex sex sex…that bird needs to live.
have some fun...
October 5th, 2012
12:26 pm
young, wild and free.
yolo…
Brian mack
October 5th, 2012
1:41 pm
Enter your commBuy American
save big bird and keep Bert & Ernie out of homeless camps.ents here
Brian mack
October 5th, 2012
2:24 pm
Forty-percent of the world is in recession. New records have been set for both personal and corporate bankruptcies. America’s trade deficit continues to escalate to historic levels. The savings rate has turned negative, as the average consumer spends $1.10 for every dollar they earn. Real wages for working Americans have plummeted 19% since 1972 – about the same time we entered into a so-called “global economy.” We only vote for our representatives every two or four years, but we vote with our wallets and checkbooks every day!
How Americans Can Buy American puts the steering wheel controlling our nation’s fate in the hands of those who care about it most – The American People. The time has come for ordinary Americans to take control of America’s destiny.
Brian mack
October 5th, 2012
3:20 pm
The National Retail Federation estimates Americans will spend $465.6 billion this year on holiday goodies — that’s $704 per shopper. Economists tell “World News” that if we all spent just $64 more on gifts with a “Made in America” label, we could create 200,000 new American jobs.”
Brian mack
October 5th, 2012
4:26 pm
Thinking back 70s buy American on bumpers t- shirts.
Well we sure screwed that up!
No phones laptops or high end electronics made in USA!
Im a label checker now if don’t say( MADE IN AMERICA )
then it dosent leave the STORE!!! Wallyworld lmao.
Not Just Big Bird: 6 Examples of the Right’s War on Beloved Children’s Characters | Alternet « Ye Olde Soapbox
October 5th, 2012
7:42 pm
[...] funding for PBS despite his “love” for Big Bird, immediately got a response from the Internet: FiredBigBird popped up on Twitter shortly after the comments and was quickly joined by Sesame Street [...]
Nick
October 5th, 2012
10:43 pm
We’re a trillion dollars in debt and Mitt Romney is willing to put a stop to the wasteful spending, which means Big Bird will have to stand on his own two feet and stop taking government money when he is perfectly capable of getting his own money from all the kids who love him so much and all the adults with fond memories of him from the 60s.
The Right’s War on Beloved Children’s Characters | Possibility Unlimited
October 6th, 2012
7:19 pm
[...] funding for PBS despite his “love” for Big Bird, immediately got a response from the Internet: FiredBigBird popped up on Twitter shortly after the comments and was quickly joined by Sesame Street colleagues [...]