Big Bird, Sen. Ted Cruz Feud Comes to a Head ... Literally

by Julian Spivey
Young viewers across the country were traumatized this week when the feud between Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Big Bird of "Sesame Street" came to a head ... literally. 

On this week’s episode of the long-running PBS children’s show, that now broadcasts its first run episode on the HBO Max streaming service, Big Bird opened the episode with his usual smile on his face, but the gruesome sight of Cruz’s severed head in his hand. 

Big Bird, the eight-foot-two inch yellow giant canary who made his “Sesame Street” debut on the very first episode of the show in 1969, spoke right into the camera and said, “let this be a lesson that if you come for the Street, you best be prepared to tussle.” 

The Republican Sen. Cruz had fired the first social media shots at Big Bird on Sunday, Nov. 7 when he retweeted Big Bird’s tweet about receiving the Covid-19 vaccine with the statement: “Government propaganda…for your 5 year old.” 

“Sesame Street” is paid for in part by the federal government with half of its $8 million budget split between the Office of Education and the Office of Economic Opportunity. 
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Big Bird has been helping kids from the U.S. with vaccine fears since at least 1972. 

Some parents worried that the move from PBS to HBO and later HBO Max could lead to a less wholesome show due to frequent HBO shows featuring mature language, sex and nudity and violence - like the Emmy-winning and fan-favorite drama “Game of Thrones.” Some of those fears were proven dramatically with the horrific image of Cruz’s head on screen. 

At the time of this reporting Cruz’s dismembered body has not yet been located, but the head was recovered in Oscar the Grouch’s home/trash can. 

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