Feathers fly over Mitt Romney’s Big Bird jibe

HE PAYS no income tax and so is in Mitt Romney’s famous 47 per cent and now Sesame Street’s giant yellow Big Bird has ruffled the Republican candidate’s feathers.

In the debate Mr Romney said he wanted to slash the $444 million (£275m) the US government directs to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) that makes the long-running educational show.

“I’m going to stop the subsidy. I like PBS, I love Big Bird. But I’m not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for,” he said.

Sesame Street fans flocked to social media forums to express their outrage with the #bigbird hashtag recording up to 20,000 tweets a minute.

Comic Dean Obeidallah wondered about the fate of the rest of the Muppets. “Will Cookie Monster turn to crime to support his habit? Will we see the Count on the roadside holding a sign that reads: ‘Will Count for Food?’” he asked.