Elmo's feud with pet rock captivates internet

Elmo is not tickled by the antics of Rocco, his friend Zoe’s pet rock.

This week, the internet has been captivated by the "Sesame Street" superstar muppet’s feud with Rocco after a video from 2004 surfaced and went viral.

In the 35-second clip, Elmo, Zoe and Rocco are at the "Sesame Street" lunch counter when Elmo asks Gabi, another muppet, if he can have an oatmeal cookie because it’s his favorite flavor. When Gabi tells Elmo that she gave the last cookie to Rocco, Elmo says he’ll just switch his cookie with the pet rock. What happened next was enough to take the usually cheerful Elmo from just being red to seeing red.

"You can't have this cookie Elmo, Rocco wants to eat it,” Zoe says in the video.

An enraged Elmo responded, "How?! How is Rocco going to eat that cookie, Zoe? Rocco doesn't have a mouth, Rocco is just a rock. Rocco's not alive!"

The feud dates back to 1999 when the rock first appeared on an episode of "Sesame Street," providing a source of irritation for Elmo throughout the decades.

Memes, gifs, and TikTok videos turbocharged Elmo’s breaking point across social media, with many users expressing how his mood matches how they’ve been feeling during this stressful time.

On Wednesday, in an attempt to diffuse the heated exchange, Elmo responded on Twitter, saying "Don't worry everybody! Elmo and Zoe practiced sharing and are still best buds forever!" he wrote "Elmo loves you Zoe! Ha ha ha! Elmo doesn't want to talk about Rocco."

No comment from Rocco, as usual. Elmo took the discussion one step further with a subtweet, asking, “Has anybody ever seen a rock eat a cookie? Elmo is just curious.”

That’s when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson entered the chat, responding on Thursday, “Yes, my friend. This Rock devours cookies.”