Those sexy lingerie Big Bird, Elmo, et al. costumes you might have seen aren't actually endorsed by Sesame Street . In fact, they're actively trying to get the site to stop selling them.
As Big Bird experienced a wave of political importance in the past few weeks, a very skimpy women's costume version attracted attention. Especially when the finances of the Sesame Street Workshop are under some scrutiny, selling a sexualize version of a beloved children's character seemed not only distasteful but downright sleazy.
Except that Sesame Street has nothing to do with these costumes, and is trying to get them taken off the market.
Sarah Beth Erb from Seseame Street Workshop tells us, “our legal team has sent a cease and desist letter to the website selling them, will monitor the site, and follow up accordingly to make sure the items in question are removed.”
Sexxxy: Not official!
Sexy Bird Bird, or as Yandy.com calls this costume, "Exclusive Yellow Dress and Stockings".
Source: yandy.com
Companies like Sesame Street Workshop don’t actually manufacture their own merchandise, instead they sell the licensing rights to various manufacturers. Even then, merchandise still has to pass through brand assurance to get the ok. This means the brands get to protect their properties’ integrity, the kind of integrity that means that Sesame Street would never approve of a sexy lingerie version of its characters, just as you won't see an official licensed shirt of a Oscar the Grouch holding a gun.
Sesame Street does license costumes through a costume manufacturer called Disguise. The women's Big Bird costume is cutesy, but still modest enough not to be scandalous. Put it this way: your dad would actually let you leave the house in this.
Here’s the officially licensed Big Bird costume (a dress, tights, and headpiece):
Cute and modest: Official!
The officially licensed, more demure Big Bird costumes
Source: disguise.com