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MAGA Is Predictably Melting Down Over Video Of Elmo Learning New Arabic Words For Arab American Heritage Month
Addressing the camera, Youssef said:
"Salamu Alaykum, everyone. I'm Ramy Youssef."
Elmo then said:
"Oh, and Elmo's Elmo!"
Then, turning to Youssef, Elmo asked:
"Mr. Ramy, what does salamu alaykum mean?"
Youssef replied:
"Well, salam means peace, and it's a way to say hello in Arabic."
After learning the meaning of the phrase, Elmo told everyone salamu alaykum before Youssef said they were together to wish everyone a happy Arab American Heritage Month.
Youssef then referred to Elmo as habibi.
Elmo asked:
"What's habibi?"
Youssef explained:
"...it's an Arabic word for a special friend."
The clip was posted across the program's social media with the caption:
"The word of the day is HABIBI! Happy #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth from Ramy Youssef, Elmo, and all of your friends on Sesame Street!"
And while many fans chimed in with message of support and celebration...
@msrachelforlittles/Instagram
@zararahim/Instagram
@ahmadhalloun/Instagram
@rod27684/Instagram
@ronys.mind/Instagram
...self-identified MAGA patriots—Islamaphobic bigots—came out in force in the comments on X.
Even though Muslim and Arab aren't synonymous.
@SamuelZHamilton/X
@usaupgrade/X
Arab is considered an ethnicity like Hispanic, not a race nor a religion.
The term Arab defines a cultural, linguistic, and ancestral identity shared by people from the Arab world—22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. While Arabs share language and history, they are not a monolithic racial nor religious group.
Not all Arabs are Muslim and not all Muslims are Arab.
Perhaps if the people commenting with hate on Sesame Street's post paid attention during Arab American Heritage Month, they wouldn't be so ignorant.
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Nancy Sinatra Fires Back At Trump With Four Powerful Words After He Uses Her Father's Song In Cryptic Post
You can see his post here.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
But Nancy Sinatra—best known for singing the 1966 hit "These Boots Were Made for Walkin'"—was not interested in Trump's reasons for posting the video.
In response to an X user who noted she "will not be happy about this" and that her father "was a big champion for equality and supported the Civil Rights movement," she commented:
"This is a sacrilege."
You can see her post below.
She also noted that "the only people who can do something" about Trump's decision to post the song "are the publishers," though that is unlikely because Trump simply shared a video on social media and did not violate copyright such as when he's used artists' music without their permission at rallies or in campaign ads.
You can see her post below.
Many concurred with Nancy Sinatra's criticism.
Nancy Sinatra has previously shut down MAGA supporters who've claimed her father would have "loved" Trump.
Several months ago, she pointed out that her father would not have been happy about the news that ICE agents are terrorizing Latinos around the country, stressing that this is "not my father's America."
It's worth noting that Sinatra, who died in 1998, was very critical of Trump back in the day.
According to The Way It Was by Eliot Weisman, Trump balked at Sinatra’s asking price to perform at his Atlantic City casino. Sinatra, unimpressed by the pushback, reportedly responded with a blunt command that Trump “go f**k himself.”
Pete Buttigieg Explains Why Trump's AI Jesus Post Was So Offensive To Christian Conservatives In Viral Video
Trump later took to Truth Social in an attempt to discredit Pope Leo, saying he doesn't "want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon." Among other things, Trump said the Pope should "stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician."
Trump also posted an image—that he deleted following MAGA backlash—of himself as Jesus Christ healing the sick.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
When asked about it, he claimed he thought the image "was me as a doctor":
"It wasn't a depiction. I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with [the] Red Cross as a Red Cross worker which we support and only the fake news could come up with that one."
"I just heard about it and I thought, 'How did they come up with that?' It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better and I do make people better. I make people a lot better."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Buttigieg was at a town hall-style event in Tulsa, Oklahoma over the weekend, when he made a point to address Christians who grew up in households where being Christian and conservative were considered “one and the same.”
He said:
“Maybe you’ve come along for a lot of things that have gone in the last few years in our politics but when you see the president insult your faith by depicting himself as the risen Lord healing somebody, you got something to say about that."
“Especially since, after insulting your faith by circulating that image, he turned around and insulted your intelligence by saying he thought that was a picture of him being a doctor.”
“By the way, he’s not a doctor, either!”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Many concurred with his remarks.
Believe it or not, the AI-generated Jesus image Trump shared didn't originate with him.
It first appeared in February on X, posted by conservative commentator Nick Adams. In Adams’ version, a U.S. soldier is silhouetted in the background. In the version Trump later shared, that figure had been altered into a horned, demonic presence looming behind him as he performs a “miracle.”
It's insulting any way you slice it.
Charlize Theron Gives Timothée Chalamet A Blunt Reality Check About His Future After His Comments Insulting Ballet
When asked about the most mentally challenging aspects of her past roles, Theron pointed to her background in dance, saying:
“Dance is probably one of the hardest things I ever did. Dancers are superheroes. What they put their bodies through in complete silence.”
The comment arrives as Chalamet continues to face backlash for remarks he made in March 2026, when he framed opera and ballet as fading art forms.
During A CNN & Variety Town Hall Event, Chalamet said he doesn’t want theatrical moviegoing to end up like “ballet or opera,” where artists try to “keep this thing alive” even though “no one cares” about it anymore.
Theron didn’t hold back:
“Oh, boy, I hope I run into him one day. I feel like that was a very reckless comment on an art form, two art forms, that we need to lift up constantly because, yes, they do have a hard time."
"But in about 10 years, I think AI is going to be able to do Timothée’s job, but it will not be able to replace a person on a stage dancing live.”
Reports on whether Chalamet attempted to clarify or walk back his comments have been mixed, with no formal apology confirmed. The backlash from his remarks has continued to fuel debate, with some pointing to his dance background and others noting that the controversy may have even boosted interest in live performances.
Theron, who trained as a ballet dancer before transitioning to acting, emphasized the discipline and physical cost behind the art form.
She detailed the intensity of professional dance training:
“And we shouldn’t sh*t on other art forms, how about we start with that...[Dance] taught me discipline. It taught me structure. It taught me hard work. It taught me to be tough. It’s borderline abusive. There were several times that I had blood infections from blisters that just never healed…”
You can view the interview clip below:
And for those who don’t know, Theron trained at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City after studying at the National School of Arts in Johannesburg, South Africa, before a knee injury at age 18 ended her dance career.
Theron continued:
“And you don’t get a day off. I’m literally talking about bleeding through your shoes. And that’s something that you have to practice every single day, the mindset of just, you don’t give up, there’s no other option, you keep going.”
She has long credited that training with shaping her approach to physically demanding roles, including Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, and The Old Guard, where she performs the majority of her own stunts.
Theron also reflected on audience demand and finding cultural relevance, adding:
“I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, [who] go on a talk show and go, ‘Hey, we gotta keep movie theaters alive. You know, we gotta keep this genre alive.”
She also acknowledged the tension between preserving art forms and letting audiences decide what survives, suggesting that while industries may try to sustain certain formats, it’s ultimately audience interest that determines what lasts.
She finished her point on keeping the art alive by noting:
“And another part of me feels like, if people wanna see it, like ‘Barbie,’ like ‘Oppenheimer,’ they’re gonna go see it and go out of their way and be loud and proud about it. And I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive.’”
Reps for Chalamet did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.
Online, however, the reaction was immediate, with some users backing Theron’s defense of ballet and opera, while others pushed back on her suggestion that artificial intelligence could replace actors within the next decade.
You can view the mixed reactions here:
Theron is currently promoting Apex, a Netflix survival thriller in which she plays a rock climber hunted in the Australian wilderness—a role that leans on the same physical discipline she credits to dance.
You can view the trailer here:
- YouTube Netflix
Theron is also set to appear in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, where she will portray Calypso opposite Matt Damon, as her career continues to expand—while the debate she sparked about longevity in the arts shows no signs of slowing down.