Woman behind Elmo's viral 'How is everybody doing' tweet is from North Jersey, naturally

On Monday, Elmo, the furry red Muppet and one of America's most beloved characters, took to his X account to ask the world a simple question.

"Elmo is just checking in!" said the post. "How is everybody doing?"

Such an innocent question from Elmo, or rather Christina Vittas, the 25-year-old who resides in Hoboken and runs Elmo's social media accounts, garnered thousands of responses, millions of views, and opened up a national conversation about mental health.

A North Jersey native and graduate of Wayne Hills High School, Vittas started her career with Sesame Workshop as a marketing intern during the summer of 2019 before her senior year at Quinnipiac University. In 2021, she started working with the company again and now holds the role of full-time social media manager for the Sesame Workshop.

With a goldfish named Dorothy and a birthday the day before Elmo's, Vittas told "Today" that she has always had a special relationship with the little guy and that she knew after her internship that she wanted to return to Sesame Street.

Elmo's last viral moment was in 2022 when a video of him feuding with fellow Muppet Zoe's pet rock Rocco took over the internet. Vittas told "Today" that she thought it would never get better than that moment between Elmo and Rocco, but it did.

As of Friday Feb. 2, her post from Monday morning had over 200 million views, 149,000 likes, 18,000 comments, and 58,000 reposts.

The post was also uploaded to Elmo and Sesame Street's TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram accounts where it brought in thousands more likes, comments, and shares across all platforms.

One response to the post said, "Not good, Elmo. Not good," which pretty much summed up the mood.

Many people took Elmo's question as an opportunity to express their feelings and concerns about life, politics, and the state of the world right now.

"Elmo I just got laid off," said one person.

"Anyone else slowly getting anxiety thinking about this year's election?" asked another X user.

Another person responded to the post saying, "Elmo, I'm gonna be real with you. I don't think I can keep living like this, I feel like Oscar the grouch in a world full of Elmos."

Elmo definitely heard everybody's concerns this week, making another post on Tuesday that said, "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."

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Even the president and other national and international accounts got involved in the conversation.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden reposted Elmo's second post saying, "I know how hard it is some days to sweep the clouds away and get to sunnier days. 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 is hard, you're never alone."

The official X account of the UN Spokesperson responded to Elmo as well saying, "Elmo, thanks for checking in. The world needs more kindness."

The Sesame Street official social media accounts took this as an opportunity to post links to the Sesame Workshop's mental health and nonprofit website. The Sesame Workshop organization's mission is to help children "grow smarter, stronger, and kinder."

"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," said their posts.

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On a happier note, there were some positive and humorous responses to Elmo's question as well.

Oreo Cookie's official account said, "ran out of milk. do the math."

Paddington Bear, along with many others took it as an opportunity to ask Elmo how he is doing these days. "Dear Elmo, it was kind of you to check in on all your friends this week. I have been busy making a lot of marmalade. How are you doing?" said Paddington.

Tons of celebrities replied as well such as Chance the Rapper who said, "Honestly, I'm in a really good place right now."

Overall, it is clear that Elmo and Vittas' question was much needed, allowing thousands of people to express their feelings throughout the week to a widely loved childhood character.

Vittas told "Today" that when someone like Elmo asks how you are doing, "You're going to be a little more honest because you know a caring friend is listening and genuinely wants to know. The foundation of friendship Elmo has with the world really resonated."

Hopefully the next time Elmo checks in he will get a more positive response and we will be on the road to sunny days.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Meet the NJ native behind the Elmo 'how are you doing' tweet