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‘Sesame Street’ Sues Creators Of Raunchy Film ‘The Happytime Murders’ [RED BAND TRAILER]

Sesame Workshop, the educational nonprofit company that produces Sesame Street filed a lawsuit against the raunchy puppet film’s makers, STX Entertainment.

The Happytime Murders referenced Sesame Street in its marketing campaign for the upcoming movie. At the top of the advertisement, the tagline says “No Sesame. All Street.”

The film takes place in Los Angeles where Melissa McCarthy and her puppet partner Phil Phillips work together to solve the “brutal murders of the former cast of a beloved classic puppet television show,” according to its websiteThe Happytime Murders doesn’t feature any characters from the children’s show.

In the movie, the characters indulge in drugs and sex, which is apparent from the vulgarity of the trailer. It shows McCarthy doing a line of ecstasy and even an ejaculating puppet, with raunchy jokes made throughout. The lawsuit called the trailer “explicit, profane, drug-using, misogynistic, violent, copulating, and even ejaculating puppets.”

With this, the makers of Sesame Street are filing a lawsuit against those of The Happytime Murders for using a tagline which “deliberately confuses consumers into mistakenly believing that Sesame is associated with, has allowed, or has even endorsed or produced the movie and tarnishes Sesame’s brand.”

“We take no issue with the creative freedom of the filmmakers and their right to make and promote this movie,” Sesame Workshop said in a statement. “Rather this is about how our name is being misused to market a film with which we have no association.”

STX released a statement from one of the movie’s puppet characters, Fred, Esq., who plays a lawyer.

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“While we’re disappointed that ‘Sesame Street’ does not share in the fun, we are confident in our legal position. We look forward to introducing adult moviegoers to our adorably unapologetic characters this summer,” the statement said.

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The lawsuit was filed on Thursday in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The Happytime Murders will be in theaters on August 17.
Gillian Kenah

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Gillian Kenah

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