A group of congressional Republicans accused PBS on Monday of “grooming” children after “Sesame Street,” one of the nonprofit TV network’s flagship programs, shared a social media post recognizing Pride Month.
“On our street, everyone is welcome. Together, let’s build a world where every person and family feels loved and respected for who they are. Happy #PrideMonth!” the longtime children’s education show wrote in a post early Sunday on the social platform X.
The post, uploaded at midnight on June 1, the official start of LGBTQ Pride Month, included an illustration of “Sesame Street’s” colorful cast of puppets holding hands, their outstretched arms arranged in the order of a rainbow.
The Republican Study Committee (RSC), a coalition of GOP House members whose membership is not public, responded to the post with a meme of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the words “I am once again asking PBS to stop grooming children.”
Representatives for PBS, “Sesame Street” and Sanders did not immediately return requests for comment. The RSC did not respond to an email asking for additional comment on the post.
The group’s accusation comes amid a broader battle between PBS and Congress and the White House over the broadcaster’s federal funding, which President Trump threatened last month in an executive order. PBS sued the Trump administration over the order, which claims it and the nonprofit radio network NPR produces “biased and partisan news coverage.”
NPR is also challenging Trump’s order.
The “Sesame Street” Pride Month post drew backlash from other House and Senate Republicans, who used it to justify the administration’s argument that it cut funding from PBS.
Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), whose website identifies her as an RSC member, also accused PBS of “grooming” children with the post, which she said “is evil and should infuriate every parent in America.”
“DEFUND!!” Miller wrote Monday on X.
“Federal funds aren’t for grooming,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote from his personal X account, responding to a separate “Sesame Street” clip from a 2020 episode that featured “Queer Eye” host Jonathan Van Ness.
Reacting to the same clip, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said, “PBS is grooming children on American taxpayers’ dime. This is unacceptable. Congress must defund them and hold the executives accountable.”
The strong responses to “Sesame Street’s” post, including accusations of grooming, also come as the Trump administration increasingly targets LGBTQ Americans with policies and rhetoric that advocacy groups and LGBTQ people say threaten their safety and basic rights.
Executive orders signed by Trump since his return to office in January aim to bar transgender people from serving openly in the military, ban trans athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, end federal support for gender-affirming care for minors and slash funding for LGBTQ health programs.