Lupita Nyong’o teamed up with the lovable Sesame Street star Elmo to teach the show’s young viewers that skin comes in “lots of beautiful shades and colors.”
This marks the first Sesame Street appearance for the 12 Years a Slave actress, and her debut couldn’t have been any more perfect.
The 31-year-old actress kicks things off by talking to her furry friend about the wonders of skin.
When Elmo asks Nyong’o why everybody is covered in skin, the actress informs him that skin protects our bodies.
She goes on to say that skin can help us “touch and feel things.”
“You can use your skin to feel if something is rough or smooth, hard or soft, hot or cold,” she tells Elmo. “Skin can feel lots of different things.”
That’s when Elmo reaches over to grab the actress’s arm and observes that her skin is very soft.
It isn’t long before Elmo makes another observation about her skin.
“Elmo sees that Miss Lupita’s skin is a beautiful brown color,” he says as he takes a closer look at her hand.
“That’s the thing I love most about skin, Elmo,” Nyong’o replies. “Skin comes in lots of beautiful shades and colors.”
At the end of the video, both Elmo and Nyong’o joyfully point out that they love the skin they are in.
It’s no surprise that the Sesame Street skit made it a clear point to celebrate Nyong’o’s “beautiful brown” skin.
The children’s show has been breaking ground lately with skits that celebrate the beauty of Black features.
In a society that often looks down upon darker skin complexions and teaches Black women that their natural hair isn’t acceptable or professional, Sesame Street has emerged as a leader in teaching children that those negative stigmas aren’t true.
In July, the puppet-themed show featured a musical number to celebrate natural hair.
The I Love My Hair song went viral as a Black female puppet danced around and sang about why she loves her natural hair.
Sesame Street puppeteer and head writer, Joey Mazzarino, explained that he had a special connection to the skit.
Mazzarino and his wife have an adopted daughter named Segi from Ethiopia.
He explained that as white parents they weren’t always sure what to do with Segi’s hair but they did want their daughter to understand that her hair was beautiful.
View Nyong’o’s Sesame Street debut below:
