Elmo has zero patience for a pet rock, and the Internet can relate

Perhaps it was the sight of the good-natured Elmo transforming into one miffed muppet, but the clip spread like wildfire on the Internet after it was shared last week, racking up more than 8.6 million views on Twitter. Soon, the “little red menace” issued a statement on Twitter.

“Don’t worry everybody! Elmo and Zoe practiced sharing and are still best buds forever! Elmo loves you Zoe! Ha ha ha!” the muppet’s account posted. “Elmo doesn’t want to talk about Rocco.”

Less than an hour later, he cheekily added: “Has anybody ever seen a rock eat a cookie? Elmo is just curious.” (This got a response from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who insisted that “This Rock devours cookies.”)

After Elmo fanned the flames of the feud, more vintage clips of Elmo seeing red started cropping up. There’s the one of Zoe asking Elmo to hold Rocco’s hand while she steps away. Disgruntled, Elmo agrees, but when Zoe returns, she says Elmo is holding his butt, not his hand. In another, Elmo is forced to listen to Zoe’s theme song for Rocco, appearing to be on the verge of hurling Rocco as far as his felt hand can throw him.

Rocco has been a pain in Elmo’s side since he was introduced to the long-running PBS children’s show in 1999. Elmo has no patience for Zoe’s delusions about Rocco — which is saying something, considering the fact that Elmo regularly has conversations with his pet goldfish. The other characters on the beloved street, however, humor Zoe’s friendship, which infuriates Elmo even more.

The rivalry seems to have struck a chord with the public, many of whom say they can relate to the absurdity of Elmo’s dilemma, especially as we enter year three of a maddening pandemic. “Right now we are all Elmo having an oatmeal raisin cookie denied him so that a rock can be placed next to it,” tweeted author Seth Abramson on Jan. 5.

And yet, there isn’t always bad blood between Elmo and Rocco. The clips that haven’t seemed to catch on are the ones where Elmo makes amends with Zoe’s sedimentary sidekick, like the time Elmo helps stop Cookie Monster from eating Rocco in a fit of hunger. Elmo was even the best man at Rocco’s wedding (yes, you read that right), walking him and his rock bride, Petra, down the aisle in 2014. When it comes to preserving his friendship with Zoe, Elmo is clearly between a rock and a hard place.

So, what are we to make of all of this angry Elmo fanfare? That it’s important to support your friends, even if you don’t agree with all of their life choices? That we’re all so batty from nearly two years of on-and-off isolation that we’re finding it deeply satisfying to watch a beloved puppet go absolutely berserk?

Whatever it is, Rocco hasn’t been spotted on “Sesame Street” since 2014, according to Muppet Wiki, so Elmo may be more chill than we are these days.

Dana Gerber can be reached at dana.gerber@globe.com. Follow her @danagerber6.