The Wicked Witch of the West's "Sesame Street" Episode, Banned for Scaring Children, Aired 50 Years Ago Angela AndaloroFebruary 11, 2026 at 11:14 PM 0 Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the West on "Sesame Street" Alamy Sesame Street once invited Margaret Hamilton to play the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz in an episode of the show The Feb.
- - The Wicked Witch of the West's "Sesame Street" Episode, Banned for Scaring Children, Aired 50 Years Ago
Angela AndaloroFebruary 11, 2026 at 11:14 PM
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Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the West on "Sesame Street"
Alamy
Sesame Street once invited Margaret Hamilton to play the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz in an episode of the show
The Feb. 10, 1976 episode aired just one time, with the show getting backlash after children found the episode too scary
Hamilton, a former teacher, was excited about the appearance and the positivity Sesame Street was bringing to children's learning experiences
Sesame Street's illustrious history has been full of warm moments for young viewers. There were, however, a few bumps in the road.
On Feb. 10, 1976, Margaret Hamilton — known as the Wicked Witch of the West from the original 1939 The Wizard of Oz — guest-starred on the children's show.
Though it was over three decades since she'd filmed the classic, Hamilton was game to don her witch's hat once again for Sesame Street, which she watched at home with her three grandchildren. In fact, she was excited to be part of the legacy of positivity in learning that the show put forth.
"When I was a child, and that was some time ago, going to school wasn't a particularly joyous experience," Hamilton, a former teacher, told The Memphis Press-Scimitar. "I see no reason why learning shouldn't be fun and Sesame Street demonstrates that it can be a very happy experience."
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Sesame Street cast in 1976
Richard Termine/PBS/Courtesy Everett Collection
The Wicked Witch of the West crashes into Sesame Street and finds herself at odds with David (Northern Calloway) and Big Bird. When her broom drops into David's hands, she demands it back. It's only when she disguises herself as an average woman, a disguise David sees through, that she gets it back for asking nicely.
While there was a good lesson at the heart of the episode, the Witch frightened a number of the show's young viewers at home.
One parent wrote to Sesame Street's parent company, the Children's Television Workshop, describing her children's distress in detail.
"I wish to protest most strongly the inclusion of the 'wicked witch' (Margaret Hamilton, I think) in yesterday's production of Sesame Street. My two children (ages 3 and almost 5) found her simply terrifying, and we had to turn the set off, with both of them crying. Then last night they each woke twice, sobbing with nightmares about 'the wicked witch on Sesame Street' and 'I don't want her to turn me into a basketball.' "
Margaret Hamilton in "The Wizard of Oz"
Silver Screen Collection/Getty
The distressed mom continued to describe the experience as "extremely upsetting," stating that it made her rethink her trust in the show.
"At this age, children are so susceptible to scary things, and it will take weeks to overcome that one bad hour. It is for this reason that I do not let them watch The Electric Company, as it is frequently too frightening. I have checked with eight mothers of other children this age, and all said they were horrified that Sesame Street would do this, and turned the program off. My children's preschool teacher said she has had countless complaints about it from upset parents," she wrote.
The episode was ultimately pulled from syndication after Children's Television Workshop researcher Ana Herrera shared the episode with a test group of children who reacted negatively. She recommended that the episode not air again.
It was, however, preserved in the Library of Congress. Although it has since reappeared online, it has never aired on television again, per NBC News.
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Published: February 11, 2026 at 08:00PM on Source: RED MAG
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