The Muppet History Account, @HistoryMuppet, issued a public apology Monday after mounting harassment claims against the account’s creators took over the web.
Despite the account’s wholesome intended nature, admins of the account have been accused of harassing and bullying other Muppet-themed accounts.
The apology, which amassed over two million views, led users far beyond the Muppet fandom to investigate the account’s misconduct.
Created in 2018, Muppet History is dedicated to “continuing the spirit and silliness of Jim Henson,” the late puppeteer and animator behind The Muppets and Sesame Street.
@HistoryMuppet is run by the husband and wife duo. The Daily Dot is not naming the duo as they did not respond to comments about the controversy.
The apology follows months of speculation about harassment from the couple.
In the r/Muppets subreddit, users had discussed the couple’s hostility towards other, smaller Muppet accounts.
On Monday, the account issued an apology that read, “Before we dive into these concerns, we want to thank you for your continued support and encouragement … 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.”
The post also states, “We extend our most sincere apologies to those whom we have hurt, either through this platform or personal platforms.”
Many, curious to know the full context, flocked to the account’s apology. One X user, in response to the apology, simply commented “Is there a single crumb of context???”
Others, apparently well aware of the allegations, reveled in this public outing.
“You know exactly what you did,” wrote one user. “Stop hiding behind a blanket apology and actually take accountability and ownership for your actions.”
In the aftermath of the post, at least one Muppet fan posted screenshots of messages and correspondence from the couple highlighting what they deemed abuse.
The Instagram account @malonespops began sharing alleged correspondence, noting she’d previously posted concerns to her “close friends” Instagram circle.
She shared a DM she received she said was from the husband referencing her “mouth.”
In a later email allegedly from the husband, he said, “I apologize that my messages of playful flirting went too far.”
The account called the apology “bullshit,” saying they knew of many more concerns from other Muppet accounts about his behavior.
In other screenshots, the account shared a message sent to the wife, revealing the inappropriate behavior.
The Instagram account claimed that the wife dismissed the messages as flirting, referencing her polyamorous marriage, although the account did not share a copy of the actual response.
Some, coming across the account for the first time in the wake of the scandal, have been captivated.
Responding to the apology, one user commented “lmao someone start posting screenshots of their messages rn this is a muppets community for christ sakes it should never be this serious. Im fascinated.”
One X user wrote, “We have officially calculated the smallest amount of power a person can go mad with and it’s ‘running the Muppet History account on Twitter.’”
Summing up the absurdity of the incident, one X user wrote “I can’t believe I stayed on Twitter long enough to see Muppet History get cancelled.”
In the days since the apology, several users have shared their own experiences of harassment from the account.
One Reddit user released a list of allegations, including a claim that the husband sent information about a woman’s location to a stalker.
Other alleged messages said Muppet History would belittle other accounts, telling one that they weren’t a “real muppet page.”
But Muppet accounts have also tried to rally the community.
“Just wanted to put a reminder out there that the Muppet fan community is still a great group of people,” wrote one account.
As for Muppet History, its pinned Instagram post is a quote from Jim Henson.
“At some point in my life I decided, rightly or wrongly, that there are many situations in life I can’t do much about,” it reads.
Responded a top comment, “Dude if you pinned this due to what’s currently happening that’s really sad.”
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
