Katy and Elmo Heat Up “Sesame Street”

NEW YORK: “Sesame Street” became a setting for controversy last week when producers decided to cut a clip featuring pop singer Katy Perry. A video of Perry’s duet with “Sesame Street” denizen Elmo elicited objections from parents when it was posted on YouTube. Perry’s costume was considered too low cut and racy for the venerable PBS children’s program.

Executive producer, Carol-Lynne Parente told The Hollywood Reporter that she was surprised by the avalanche of reaction. Elmo, a small, red, furry Muppet with an unusually kind demeanor, told George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America” that “Elmo loves Miss Katy.”

The YouTube video generated 835,064 hits and more than 1,500 comments by Friday: