To me, nothing screams happiness like an Elmo and Katy Perry collaboration. However, due to parents’ complaints, ‘Sesame Street’ producers made the decision to rob children and babysitters across the country by cutting Perry and Elmo’s rendition of ‘Hot and Cold’ from the show. Simply because Perry’s outfit choice was too revealing.

In the performance, Perry was wearing a hardly controversial yellow dress that showcased her cleavage, which hardly rivals that of Miss Piggy’s.

Before you rush to defend Perry’s honor, consider instead that Perry is a publicity genius. Most will admit Perry is somewhat controversial, but when compared to the likes of Lady Gaga, Perry fades into the background.

But now Perry has something even Lady Gaga doesn’t have: ‘Sesame Street’ rejection. And her rejection from America’s most iconic preschool show is her ticket to having a household name known across all generations’ spheres.

After PBS decided to cut Perry’s performance, the blogosphere, tabloids and talk show hosts went wild, siding with either the overreacting producers and parents or Team Katy. Unintentional outfit choice? No. Publicity stunt? Yes.

In a world in which controversy launches celebrities into America’s collective unconscious over philanthropic efforts, Perry made all the right moves.

Only two days after PBS’s decision to cut Perry’s performance, the California girl appeared on ‘Saturday Night Live’ to make light of the event. Wearing a low-cut, cleavage-bearing Elmo T-shirt, Perry’s mockery was funny and relevant enough to overshadow her horribly awkward performance of ‘California Gurls’ later on in the show.

Many celebrities run to ‘SNL’ to play the funny card back into America’s hearts and fail. Think Lindsay Lohan. The key point here is everyone still hates Lindsay, but we can’t get enough of our favorite Proactiv spokeswoman.

Perry’s execution of comedic redemption was so perfect that it would be ignorant to claim it was anything but unplanned. Perry created a perfect controversy that was just scandalous enough to gain the recognition of the preschool-aged kids, the teens, the parents and even the grandparents.

Furthermore, Perry’s only response to the incident has been one tweet that stated, ‘Wow, looks like my playdate with Elmo has been cut short!’ Seemingly unaffected by her rejection, Perry’s scandal offered her a guest role on a holiday episode of ‘The Simpsons.’ Controversy breeds comedic opportunity.

The best part of the debacle: The next day Elmo appeared on ‘Good Morning America’ to issue his own form of an apology. Elmo invited Perry on another playdate and said, ‘Elmo loves Ms. Katy, and we had a good time.’ Yeah, Elmo?

So Team Katy fans, don’t feel bad for Perry, applaud her. She stealthily managed to stir up drama on ‘Sesame Street,’ get cut from the program, redeem herself on ‘SNL’ and get offered a role on ‘The Simpsons,’ in addition to another appearance on ‘Sesame Street’ in a later episode.

And overreacting parents, you may have gotten your way, but my homegirl is and will remain America’s ‘Teenage Dream.’

Amanda Abbott is a junior geography and IST major. She is the assistant opinion editor at The Daily Orange, where her column appears occasionally. She can be reached at aeabbott@syr.edu.

Published on September 29, 2010 at 12:00 pm