Russell Brand jokes about Katy Perry's Elmo video ban by 'Sesame Street' production company

09/24/2010 by Corinne Heller

Russell Brand is poking fun at a decision by Sesame Street's production company not to air a segment featuring fiance and pop singer Katy Perry wearing a dress that reveals her cleavage as she tries to coax the puppet Elmo to play with her, following viewer complaints.

"Today's Sesame Street will NOT be brought to you by the number 34 or the letter D," Brand wrote on his Twitter page, parodying the show's famous educational catchphrases.

"@katyperry Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sex-with-me Street?" he said, using some of the lyrics to the children show's theme song.

In the video, posted on Perry's website, the singer sings her pulsing dance hit "Hot N Cold" with different lyrics as Elmo runs away from her and around her legs, later explaining he thought they were playing "Tag".

The lyrics go: "How am I supposed to play with you? / You're up and you're down / You're running around / You're fast and you're slow / You're 'Stop' and you're 'Go / You're hot and you're cold / You're 'Yes' then you're 'No' / You're in then you're out / I'm starting to doubt."

"In light of the feedback weve received on the Katy Perry music video which was released on YouTube only, we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of Sesame Street, which is aimed at preschoolers," Sesame Workshop, which produces the children's series, said in a statement.

Perry Tweeted early on Thursday: "Wow, looks like my play date with Elmo has been cut short! Tag you're it, Elmo!"

Sesame Street has often featured celebrities, even those more popular among adults, such as rock singers Alice Cooper and Gene Simmons of KISS, Sopranos actor James Gandolfini and rapper Ice-T, and parodied more mature shows such as Twin Peaks.

Sesame Street's upcoming 41st season, which begins on September 27, features a segment that spoofs the adult-oriented vampire show True Blood (See a video of the "True Mud" segment).

Brand, a 35-year-old controversial British comedian, actor and former MTV host, was arrested on September 17 following a confrontation with a celebrity photographer at Los Angeles International Airport that was witnessed by Perry, 25. He has not yet been charged and police are looking into the matter.

Perry and Brand, who shot to fame in the 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, are believed to have begun dating in the fall of 2009. They announced their engagement in January.

Check out the video of Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" video with Elmo of Sesame Street: