kermit sipping tea in front of twin towers

Kermit Did 9/11

Part of a series on Kermit the Frog. [View Related Entries]

Updated Aug 31, 2021 at 04:52PM EDT by Adam.

Added Aug 31, 2021 at 03:26PM EDT by Adam.

PROTIP: Press 'i' to view the image gallery, 'v' to view the video gallery, or 'r' to view a random entry.

About

Kermit Did 9/11 refers to a fan theory that the existence of Kermit the Frog led to the fall of the Twin Towers and the events of 9/11. It is based on a scene in the 2002 film A Merry Muppet Christmas Movie in which an angel shows Kermit the Frog what the world would be like if he had never been born, and coincidentally, the Twin Towers appear during that sequence. After the tidbit of film trivia was pointed out in 2015, the theory has circulated online in memes and fan posts.

Origin

In the 2002 TV film A Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, an angel shows Kermit the Frog what the world would be like if he had never been born. During the sequence, Kermit is seen in front of the Twin Towers, which otherwise do not appear in the film[1] (shot shown below).


7134

It is unclear when exactly the detail led to the conspiracy that Kermit's existence inadvertently caused the destruction of the towers. One of the earliest recorded posts joking about Kermit causing 9/11 appeared in August of 2013. On August 24th, 2013, Tumblr account Nerdyfacts posted the trivia that the Twin Towers stand during the Merry Muppet Christmas sequence in the universe where he'd never existed[3] (shown below). The next day, the post was reposted to Funnyjunk[4] by user sexualtyranosaurus with the title "Kermit is a terrorist."


Nerdy Fact: #1027 The 2002 television film, 'It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie,' actually depicts the World Trade Center still standing in an alternate reality where an angel shows Kermit the Frog what the world would be like had he never been born. Nerdyfacts.tumblr.com

Spread

The joke that Kermit caused 9/11 didn't become widespread for several more years. On May 21st, 2014, the film's director, Kirk Thatcher,[2] replied to a deleted post by Twitter user named @BradFraggle and appeared to respond to a question about the Twin Towers' inclusion by saying, "No. It implies that the background cycloramas/translights that were available in Canada were more than a year old…" (shown below, left), implying the Twin Towers' inclusion was simply an error in filming rather than an intentional choice. He repeated the explanation to another Twitter user two years later.[10]

On December 5th, 2014, the factoid about Merry Muppet Christmas was posted by a deleted Reddit user along with a link to a Wikipedia article titled "List of entertainment affected by the September 11 attacks" in an /r/movies thread.[5] On January 12th, 2015, Twitter user @jfruh[6] posted a screenshot of the same article with the Merry Muppet Christmas factoid, writing, "for those of you who missed it last night: wikipedia heavily implies that it's muppets canon that kermit did 9/11," gaining over 7,000 retweets and 11,000 likes (shown below, right).


Kirk R Thatcher @KirkThatcher Replying to @BradFraggle @BradFraggle No. It implies that the background cycloramas/translights that were available in Canada were more than a year old... 10:49 PM · May 21, 2014 · Twitter Web Client Josh Fruhlinger @jfruh •.. for those of you who missed it last night: wikipedia heavily implies that it's muppets canon that kermit did 9/11 Some filmmakers have added the World Trade Center to films and television series that are set during periods when the buildings were still standing. • The 2002 TV movie It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie features the twin towers in an alternate reality where an angel shows Kermit the Frog what the world would be like had he never been born. 1:13 PM · Jan 12, 2015 · Twitter Web Client

@jfruh's post appears to have been the catalyst for other posts implying Kermit the Frog caused 9/11; most posts about the factoid after the post came with the joke that Kermit was responsible for 9/11. Such jokes appeared on Something Awful[7] on July 19th, 2015, a Cracked[9] article published October 14th, 2015, an /r/shittymoviedetails[8] thread posted on October 15th, 2018 and multiple other places online. Cracked published a video with the theory on December 5th, 2017 (shown below).



On August 26th, 2019, the "Kermit did 9/11" theory was posted to /r/copypasta[11] by user akaSashk, where it gained over 6,400 points. It reads:

It is actual Muppets canon that Kermit the Frog, in some way, had a role in bringing down the Twin Towers in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.
In a Muppets Christmas film released in late 2002, Kermit is shown a glimpse of what New York City might look like if he had never been born. Among the scenery of this alternate reality NYC, we find none other than the Twin Towers proudly standing in the background. They were, of course, long destroyed in Kermit's normal reality. And yet, in the world without Kermit, the war on terror is missing its powder keg spark. Who would've thought that green piece of fuck could kermit a terror attack on US soil, but there it stands unimpeachable… We have concrete, canon proof of involvement. Why the world hasn't stopped and asked further questions is only further proof of a media cabal keeping this conversation away from the masses.
The Twin Towers would still be standing if it weren't for Kermit the Frog. Al Qaeda was the puppet this time, and Kermit the hand within.

In 2021, a screenshot of a Reddit thread titled "What fan theory do you accept as 100% true" that featured the "Kermit did 9/11" theory reposted by JesusDiedForBaron spread on social media. The comment[12] with the theory gained over 50,000 points.


PASKReddit Posted by u/ 'er • 7h 42 31 S 34 A 30 What fan theory do you 100% accept as true? 36 Awards Kermit caused 9/11, not really much of a fan theory though since it's unintentionally canon Edit: Realized this should be explained, in the 2002 TV film "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie", there's a part where an angel shows Kermit an alternate reality where he was never born. For whatever reason, the editors didn't really think about it, and continued to use footage with the twin towers still standing for this scene, however they aren't there in his original universe. Therefore, something that Kermit did in his life, did in fact cause 9/11 in Muppet lore.

Various Examples


zetsubouquet @zetsubouquet WAIT WHAT The 2002 TV film It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie has the Twin Towers standing in an altenate reality where an angel shows Kermit the Frog what the world would be like had he never been born 9:58 PM 12 Sep 18 IMA KEEPT GREAL WITH U CHIEFII ARE YOU KERMIT THE FROG CAUSED 9/11. IN THE 2002 TV FILM "IT'SA VERY MERRY MUPPET CHRISTMAS MOVIE", THERE'S A PART WHERE AN ANGEL SHOWS KERMIT AN ALTERNATE REALITY WHERE HE WAS NEVER BORN. FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE EDITORS DIDN'T REALLY THINK ABOUT IT, AND CONTINUED TO USE FOOTAGE WITH THE TWIN TOWERS STILL STANDING FOR THIS SCENE, HOWEVER THEY AREN'T THERE IN HIS ORIGINAL UNIVERSE. THEREFORE, SOMETHING THAT KERMIT DID IN HIS LIFE, DID IN FACT CAUSE 9/11 IN MUPPET LORE. r/AskReddit + Posted by u/AwkwardJeweler · 7h 31 3 34 A 30 42 What fan theory do you 100% accept as true? JesusDiedForBaron · 3h 36 Awards Kermit caused 9/11, not really much of a fan theory though since it's unintentionally canon Edit: Realized this should be explained, in the 2002 TV film "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie", there's a part where an angel shows Kermit an alternate reality where he was never born. For whatever reason, the editors didn't really think about it, and continued to use footage with the twin towers still standing for this scene, however they aren't there in his original universe. Therefore, something that Kermit did in his life, did in fact cause 9/11 in Muppet lore. Unlimited power! PASKReddit + Posted by u/ 'er • 7h 42 31 S 34 A 30 What fan theory do you 100% accept as true? 36 AWards Kermit caused 9/11, not really much of a fan theory though since it's unintentionally canon Edit: Realized this should be explained, in the 2002 TV film "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie", there's a part where an angel shows Kermit an alternate reality where he was never born. For whatever reason, the editors didn't really think about it, and continued to use footage with the twin towers still standing for this scene, however they aren't there in his original universe. Therefore, something that Kermit did in his life, did in fact cause 9/11 in Muppet lore. KERMIT CAUSED 9/11 A normal conversation • The 2002 TV film It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie has the Twin Towers standing in an alternate reality where an angel shows Kermit the Frog what the world would be like had he never been born. You have created an imbalance TO

Search Interest

External References

[1] Stack Exchange – Why exactly do the Twin Towers still stand in the Kermit-less world?

[2] Twitter – @KirkThatcher

[3] Tumblr – nerdyfacts

[4] Funnyjunk – Kermit is a terrorist

[5] Reddit – Scenes removed after 9/11

[6] Twitter – @jfruh

[7] Something Awful – Something Awful

[8] Reddit – /r/shittymoviedetails

[9] Cracked – 5 Signs The Muppets Caused 9/11 Crazy But Convincing Theory

[10] Twitter – KirkThatcher

[11] Reddit – /r/copypasta

[12] Reddit – /r/askreddit

Recent Videos

There are no videos currently available.

Recent Images 11 total



+ Add a Comment

Comments (2)


Display Comments

Add a Comment


Howdy! You must login or signup first!