Elmo and Rocco’s battle continues on. The viral feud has opened a new chapter in a Saturday Night Live skit that premiered last night. You can check out the sketch below.
The skit starts out with Michael Che interviewing Elmo (played by Chloe Fineman). When the subject of the rock turns up, Elmo gets a little nervous. If you haven’t been on TikTok or Twitter in the past week, the sketch is referring to a Sesame Street clip that went viral last week involving a running feud between Elmo and Zoe’s pet rock. The clip that first brought attention to the feud involved Elmo, Zoe and Rocco getting cookies from adult cast-member Gabby.
Gabby gives Elmo a chocolate chip and Rocco an oatmeal raisin (Elmo’s favorite). When Elmo asks for an oatmeal raisin cookie instead, Gabby sadly responds that she has no more. Elmo says “that’s okay” and attempts to swap his and the pet rock. Zoe then steps in and tells Elmo he can’t have Rocco’s cookie. This causes Elmo to go into a hilariously dramatic rant on how Rocco isn’t even alive and can’t eat. The clip’s fame caused fans to dig up several other instances where Elmo and Zoe butt heads over the pet rock.
Che brings up the feud on Weekend Update. Fineman is donned in a very creative adult-sized Elmo costume with a creative twist, rod puppet arms operated from below. Fineman as Elmo is excited to be on SNL and asks Che if she can host. Che calls out Elmo for the “unhinged rants” about Rocco. Elmo responded by stating that he has already apologized in a long Instagram post. The footage then cuts to a screenshot which mirrors Patton Oswald’s own apology Instagram post from the beginning of the year. The comedian posted a photo of himself with Dave Chappelle, who was under fire in the previous year for jokes about the LGBTQ+ community in his Netflix special The Closer.
Saturday Night Live Goes All-In With the Feud
Che then surprises Elmo by bringing out Rocco, who is pushed out on a miniature chair. Elmo starts ranting again, his anger only growing when Che reveals that Rocco took a COVID test to appear. Elmo parrots the viral rant, screaming “How is Rocco getting a COVID test? Tell Elmo! Rocco doesn’t even have a nose!”
Elmo’s anger only grows when Che reveals that Rocco is set to host SNL next month. There is a cut to an insert-shot of an Instagram post parodying SNL’s host announcements, where Rocco is revealed as both host and musical guest in an upcoming episode. Che plays into the role of Zoe, pretending to hear Rocco and talking directly to him. This causes Elmo to lose his cool completely, making he recreate another meme, Elmo in flames. Elmo then attempts to kill Rocco with a piece of paper (as paper covers rock) before Che points out that Rocco’s family is in the audience. Elmo then backs off.
Folks can’t seem to get enough of Elmo’s long-running frustration, and SNL was quick to swoop in on the trend. The sketch was performed very well with Che and Fineman in their respective roles. Fineman especially does a fine job impersonating the Muppet monster.