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Who doesn’t love the Muppets? The beloved Jim Henson characters have been a part of American pop culture at large for nearly 70 years and characters such as Kermit and Miss Piggy have pervaded culture at large. But a recent controversy has the legendary puppets in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
The @MuppetHistory Instagram page has north of 576,000 followers. While the same account, operated by the same people on Twitter has over 283,000. The pages define themselves as “A fan page dedicated to continuing the spirit and silliness of Jim Henson!”
That’s all well and good! The pages have historically posted old muppets clips, fun facts, or quotes from Muppets creator Jim Henson. But on Monday afternoon, the pages on both Instagram and Twitter shared a strange message that seemed to lack context.
“Good Evening. We wanted to take a moment to address some concerns that have arisen as of late. Before we dive into these concerns, we want to thank you for your continued support and encouragement. We acknowledge that we are human and have made mistakes in the past,” the posts began.
“We are always striving to learn and grow and appreciate your understanding and grace. We extend our thanks to those who hold us accountable. This community is near and dear to our hearts and we hope to foster and embody the principles of Jim Henson in our words and actions.
“Therefore, we extend our most sincere apologies to those whom we have hurt, either through this platform or personal platforms. There has been a series in which boundaries with friends and viewers through messaging were overstepped. To the people who have been made uncomfortable by these actions we have only ourselves to blame and ask for your forgiveness.”
Okay, but that doesn’t explain exactly what happened. The post continued from there.
“In building this community we have been overly protective, confusing fellow fan accounts for competition.
“We have not properly intervened when members in our own community have caused harm in defending our name. We have overstepped boundaries and ignored the hurt it caused. We cannot take back what has been said and we do not offer this apology with expectations that you will accept it solely on our word.
“We will be taking a step away from posting personal content on this platform over the next few weeks to reflect on our next steps forward in bettering ourselves. This community deserves only the best. We understand that actions speak louder. And we hope that one day we can regain your trust.” – Joshua and Holly
Why Did The Muppet History Social Media Pages Issue An Apology?
The post left longtime followers of the pages feeling confused. What did they do wrong? Why were they apologizing?
Shortly after, the truth came to light.
Here’s what I’ve seen pic.twitter.com/YxxmiK3cyb
— Leslie (@peteetchou) December 2, 2024
Joshua Gillespie, one of the owners and operators of the page, allegedly sent sexually charged messages to multiple followers without consent or reciprocation. Fellow Muppets fan account, @Malonespops, shared details of several interactions.
Gillespie and his wife Holly apologized for the incidents. But both have since stepped away from social media.
“I can’t believe I stayed on Twitter long enough to see Muppet History get canceled,” one fan said on Twitter.
“Everything I have learned about the muppet history polyamorous sexual harassment drama has been against my will. None of these words are in the bible,” said another.
The Muppets are great! They’re fun, wholesome, and generally harmless. It’s a shame to see someone allegedly use their brand for something like this.