Sesame Street introduces its first Filipino-American puppet

TJ appeared in a segment with Kal Penn and Ji-Young on confidence

TJ is the brainchild of Filipino-American animator Bobby Pontillas. Photo: YouTube screenshot

Sesame Street has introduced its first Filipino-American muppet, called TJ.

Appearing in a segment with actor Kal Penn and Ji-Young, the trio discuss the word of the day: confidence.

“Confidence is when you believe in yourself and your abilities, or in the abilities of others,” Penn explains. TJ then shares an example of how support from his family had helped boost his confidence.

“I’m learning Tagalog. It’s a language my Filipino family speaks. And I have confidence because I can always ask my Lola for help when I don’t know a word,” TJ says, using the Tagalog word for grandmother.

The puppet was created by Filipino-American animator Bobby Pontillas, who collaborated with puppeteer Louis Mitchell. He spoke about the idea behind the creation in an Instagram post.

“For his look, I based him off of my lifelong friends’ kids, Max and Mateo, thank you for the inspiration lads. I was blessed to collaborate with master puppeteer Louis Mitchell, the loveliest human on earth,” Pontillas wrote.

The character is played by voice actor and puppeteer Yinan Shentu. The introduction of the new muppet was welcomed by many in the Filipino-American community, as well as fans of the show.

“This is one of many reasons I adored @SesameStreet as a child, their inclusiveness of all races/cultures. As a mature woman of a certain age, I still do,” tweeted one.

Another said they were happy that “young ones will have someone to see,” but added that it’s taken so long to do so that “it hurts”.

Another Twitter user said they “cannot get over how perfect of a hair choice this was for a Filipino muppet”.

TJ's debut comes after the show introduced Ji-Young, a seven-year-old Korean American skateboarder and guitar player, in 2021. Her introduction was a culmination of a lot of discussion around anti-Asian crime.