On Dec. 2, Twitter account Muppet History posted a vague apology “to address some concerns that have arisen as of late.”
Joshua and Holly Gillespie, the couple behind the 280,000-follower account that posts images, stories, and memes about the world-famous puppets and their creator Jim Henson, announced that they “will be taking a step away from posting personal content.”
“We extend our most sincere apologies to those whom we have hurt, either through this platform or personal platforms,” the Muppet History account tweeted.
The day before, Megan Maloney, a Muppet influencer with 70,000 followers on Instagram, posted to her Close Friends Story a message she got from the Muppet History account that she described to Passionfruit as “sexually charged.”
After receiving multiple messages from others in the Muppet fandom who alleged they received messages from Muppet History that made them “uncomfortable,” she decided to post it to her public Story.
“The general feel was that I was not alone,” Maloney said. “[Joshua] had such a huge influence and platform, people were intimidated that if they spoke up, they wouldn’t be heard.”
As the story started to travel, Maloney said that Joshua started “spamming” her with Story likes. Maloney claims Joshua then emailed to “apologize that [his] messages of playful flirting went too far.”
One other individual who asked to remain anonymous for fear of public scrutiny shared with Passionfruit multiple “sex jokes” they received from Muppet History.
“I thought they were weird, but they weren’t so offensive that I thought of them as harassment or assault,” the anonymous source told Passionfruit. It wasn’t until Maloney shared her story that the source realized “just how many people were involved.”
“This was all something I couldn’t blow off as innocent or a misunderstanding of boundaries,” the source said.
Once Muppet History posted its apology to Twitter, other accounts started to share Maloney’s story. Fandom accounts dedicated to Muppet-related media, like Sesame Street and puppeteer Frank Oz, distanced themselves. Awards given to the channel by Muppet Twitter were revoked.
Even the Muppet Wiki seemingly chimed in with, “Don’t let someone’s clout keep you from speaking up.”
Soon, multiple articles from the Daily Beast, Yahoo, and the Mary Sue covered the allegations. When the Muppet History account posted the apology, it created a Streisand Effect pulling in others outside of the fandom who wanted to know what was going on.
Joshua has remained silent on social media and has not returned multiple requests for comment.
Since the Muppet History account was created in 2018, it’s attracted the goodwill of the most diehard Muppet fans. Though we still don’t have all of the information about these allegations, and a lot of the claims are just anonymous screenshots, it’s clear that what we do know caused a visceral reaction. In a niche fandom, where the only governance is community-driven, backlash comes swiftly.
“I feel like an important thing was done, and I don’t even think I realized at the moment just HOW much this meant to so many who had stayed quiet,” Maloney said.
