Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is wrong, ‘Sesame Street’ was not replaced by ‘drag queen storytime’

Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and Elmo have had a prime PBS spot since 1969. Have they been booted? 

On PBS, "they now have drag queen storytime instead of good old Sesame Street," said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., during a March 25 interview with Newmax host Chris Salcedo. Greene made the comment before a House hearing about defunding PBS.

PBS is a nonprofit that distributes free-to-air educational, news and entertainment programming to local independent member stations across the country. About 16% of PBS’ funding comes from the federal government, a PBS spokesperson told Politico.

Greene Spokesperson Nick Dyer pointed PolitiFact to the PBS defunding hearing, during which Greene referenced a 12-minute, 2021 segment of the show "Let’s Learn." That segment featured the drag queen Lil Miss Hot Mess reading her children’s book "The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish." In it, she sings and dances along to the words of her book to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus."

"Let’s Learn" started in 2020 to support at-home learning with segments on reading, writing, math and social studies. 

But that doesn’t mean "drag queen storytime" replaced "Sesame Street."

The 55th season of "Sesame Street" will air on PBS this fall. "Sesame Street" episodes are also available for streaming on Max, formerly HBO, until 2027. The 55th season will be the last season streaming on Max, as "Sesame Street" seeks a new streaming partner for its 56th season. 

"Sesame Street" is created and produced by the nonprofit Sesame Workshop, which distributes the show to PBS. Future funding cuts to PBS that Greene supports could affect local PBS stations, especially those in rural areas that heavily rely on federal funding. 

Although PBS distributes programming to its member stations, local stations also can produce and air their own programming.

The segment Greene flagged was funded and produced by The WNET Group, the nonprofit that operates New York City’s local PBS station, in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. PBS has said it did not distribute it.

When contacted for comment, The WNET Group Spokesperson Kellie Castruita Specter did not answer whether the segment aired on the local network or only online; she said it was no longer "in circulation." The "Let’s Learn" website says the show is "nationally broadcast" but it does not specify which markets air the show. Specter also said the national PBS organization doesn’t distribute "Let’s Learn."

At the House hearing, Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., asked PBS CEO Paula Kerger about the segment.

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"The drag queen was actually not on any of our kids shows. It did not air. It was a digital project (the New York City station) did for the Department of Education," Kerger said.

The segment "was mistakenly put on our website by our New York City Station," Kerger said at the House hearing. "It was not intended for national distribution. It was immediately pulled down. It was never broadcast."

Greene at the hearing said Kerger "lied under oath," pulling up screenshots of the video’s webpage which listed the video as "aired 04/01/2021" and "expired 05/24/2021."

Jennifer Byrne, a PBS spokesperson, told PolitiFact via email that the use of the term "aired" does not mean it was broadcast, but reflects the date it was posted online.

Based on archived versions of PBS.org and screenshots of the page Dyer shared, the video was available to view online for about two months. On PBS.org viewers can watch shows produced by PBS, such as "PBS News Hour," and some shows presented by local stations.

Greene said that on PBS, "they now have drag queen storytime instead of good old Sesame Street."

"Sesame Street" continues airing on PBS and has not been replaced by drag queen storytime.

Greene referenced a 2021 segment of the show "Let’s Learn," produced and funded by a local New York City member station and the New York City Department of Education. PBS did not produce or distribute the segment that featured a drag queen singing along to the book, "The Hips on the Drag Queen go Swish, Swish, Swish."

The video was available on PBS.org for about two months in 2021. PBS’ CEO said the local station mistakenly posted the segment on the website.

We rate Greene’s statement False.