One of the People Behind the Muppet History Instagram Has Been Accused of Some Gross Behavior

Finding a safe space for anything online has become increasingly more difficult. There appear to be bad apples in every bunch, and this includes the corner of the world that is comprised of Muppets fans. In December 2024, the Muppet History social media accounts came under fire when allegations of inappropriate behavior came to light.

Apologies on their X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram profiles were posted, deleted, and then posted again. In response to these, at least one alleged victim has made their frustrations known.

Here's what we know about the Muppet History drama, which sadly is not a reference to the next Muppets movie.

The Muppet History social media accounts are run by Josh and Holly Gillespie, a husband and wife team we assume are fans of Jim Henson's most famous creations. Up until recently, these accounts were devoted to all things Muppets including photos, inspirational quotes related to the characters, and occasionally pictures of Josh and Holly.

Things took an upsetting turn when Josh posted a strange apology to the Muppet History X account on Dec. 1, 2024. It has since been deleted but per Know Your Meme, Josh admitted to saying "terrible" and "inappropriate" things to people and said he was using his audience irresponsibly. He then described his actions as "disgusting."

This was quickly deleted but a new apology appeared the next day on the Muppet History Instagram account.

It felt as if they either spoke to a lawyer or a publicist as this was a far less emotional post that felt less like an apology and more like an effort to not get canceled.

It begins with appreciation for the continued support from their fans then heads into a classic "thank you for holding us accountable" style statement. Josh and Holly described their behavior as "overstepping boundaries," while apologizing for doing so. They ended by saying they are taking a break from posting personal content.

After the second post was shared, a Muppets collector and fan known as @malonespops on social media shared screenshots allegedly sent by Muppet History to her as well as other victims.

In a series of since-expired Instagram Stories, @malonespops said that Josh once responded to an Instagram Story with, "D--n gurl that mouth opens wide." He then followed that up with, "Wut else can it do?"

After she went public about what was going on, @malonespop received several DM's from other alleged victims who experienced similar harassment from Josh.

"He has been overly friendly sending sexual jokes and flirtatious messages to me and 3 other people that I know of," said one person. When @malonespop contacted Holly regarding the alleged inappropriate messages, she was dismissive and countered that by posting screenshots of her own.

According to Holly, her husband was the victim of sexual harassment and @malonespop is the perpetrator. In a since-deleted post to X, Holly shared a screenshot of a DM from @malonespop to the Muppet History. In it, the Muppet History account wrote "I GOT TIPSY WITH BRIAN HENSON," to which @malonespop responded by saying, "OMG u guys touched tips what."

Holly also stated that she went through all of the Muppet History DM's and saw nothing inappropriate.

The responses on social media have largely been supportive of @malonespop and the other alleged victims. As one person put it on a post to X, in what we assume is the most exhausted tone ever, "Man I just wanted to see pictures of muppets. Why does a muppet history account have allegations?" Why, indeed.