Barney the Dinosaur shocks fans with first message since 2010 — here’s what he said
Won’t you say you love him, too?
Barney sent waves across social media on Wednesday after everyone’s favorite purple dinosaur took to Instagram for the first time in more than 10 years to spread the love on Valentine’s Day.
“Hi friends,” the purple dinosaur says while an instrumental version of the “I Love You” song plays in the background. “I haven’t seen some of you in a long time, but I always make sure to check in on my friends.”
“And it seems like maybe we could all use a little reminder right now, a reminder of the super-dee-duper ability we all have to love one another and how important it is to show love towards yourself, too,” Barney continues.
“After a long day on the playground of life, I want you to know you are seen, you are special, you are loved,” implores the dinosaur.
The prehistoric purple plushie, whose PBS show “Barney & Friends” aired from 1992 to 2010, further states that it must be nice that “some things are still true, even when you’re all grown-up.”
“Well, friends, it’s been stupendous to see you all, and I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you again soon,” concludes Barney, hinting at the franchise reboot, which is rumored to happen this year.
The post, captioned “Happy Love Day, everyone! What a tee-rific day to be reminded that you are loved 💜,” was met with a tidal wave of love and affection.
“Welcome back, big guy,” one user gushed. “Thank you for your love forever and always.”
“BARNEY I LOVE YOU!! THIS MADE MY HEART CRY,” a second user sobbed.
“You’ve always been here,” stated a third user. “Just as close as our imagination!”
“I cannot believe people had done Barney bashing and hate on him from the past. Yet, here he is still saying love one another. We love you, Barney! Stay strong,” a fourth die-hard fan proclaimed.
The emotional video comes weeks after Elmo, another PBS character, broke social media after a seemingly innocent post on X (formerly Twitter) revealed that many people were stressed.
“Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?” the Muppet, who quite shockingly is only 3 1/2 years old, posted on the social media site late last month.
However, the post was met with several Americans trauma-dumping on the puppet with everything from job layoffs to even marital woes and the impending destruction of the human race.
“Elmo I’m gonna be real I am at my f – – king limit,” wrote one user.
“Not gonna lie…..I’m tired, Elmo,” wrote a second person. “A lot’s going on, little Red.”
“Elmo each day the abyss we stare into grows a unique horror. One that was previously unfathomable in nature. Our inevitable doom which once accelerated in years, or months, now accelerates in hours, even minutes,” a third user dolefully ruminated. “However I did have a good grapefruit earlier, thank you for asking.”
Elmo’s viral tweet also gained the attention of President Joe Biden, who sought to comfort his constituents with his own message.
“I know how hard it is some days to sweep the clouds away and get to sunnier days,” Biden, 81, wrote. “Our friend Elmo is right: We have to be there for each other, offer our help to a neighbor in need, and above all else, ask for help when we need it.”
“Even though it’s hard, you’re never alone,” the 46th president concluded.
The outpouring of emotional reactions surprised Elmo so much that he wrote in a follow-up tweet: “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing. Elmo will check in again soon, friends! Elmo loves you. #EmotionalWellBeing.”
Reacting to the outpouring of trauma, the official “Sesame Street” X account also posted a series of mental-health resources.
“Thank you, @Elmo, for checking in with a reminder for us to pause and take a mindful moment to focus on how we’re feeling,” the account posted.
