Steve Whitmire has left the Muppets, Matt Vogel to continue as Kermit

[Muppetboy09]

When Brian said that he has full faith in Matt bringing Kermit to life, that pretty much put an end to the story for me. I feel more comfortable with the decision that Disney and the Henson company have made, as drastic as it might be. It seems that everybody has said what they needed to say, and now it's time to get things started again.

 

[ErinAardvark]

Oy. This is such a tangled web. I'm just wondering the thoughts of Dave, Bill, Peter etc. On this whole matter. Maybe have been hushed by the mouse?

WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO BLAME THE MOUSE?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!

Sorry, I'm just sick and tired of people blaming Mickey Mouse when Disney does things John Q. Public doesn't like.

 

[DarthGonzo]

WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO BLAME THE MOUSE?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!

Sorry, I'm just sick and tired of people blaming Mickey Mouse when Disney does things John Q. Public doesn't like.

Uhhhhh, "The Mouse" is just shorthand some people use when talking about the company.

You...you don't really think people are blaming Mickey Mouse himself, right? Right?

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

I snook a peak at one of the newer articles about the situation and an anonymous source said that Steve was fired from SS as well, but for financial reasons (he wanted more money).

Ahhh. The plot thickens. I always thought he voluntarily left SS to work exclusively for Henson/Disney. It's still beyond me though why they would recast Ernie after they just recast him recently. Makes me wonder if Steve's termination from SS/Muppets had something to do with it. I recall when Billy started performing Ernie we didn't know if it was a permanent recast or if he was just an understudy or something. Was Sesame Workshop thinking Steve would be back and did they just have Billy perform Ernie on the interim? That's something to think about as well. Though, I did see the car commercial with Peter's Ernie and I thought he did a fair job. Yes, he did bounce a bit between Jim's and Steve's Ernie, but so did Billy when you think about it.

 

[Muppet Master]

I think I'll stay away from the 90s-present muppet stuff for a while. Like @rexcrk, I feel a little uneasy thinking about what might have been going on backstage.

This is all just so sad. I really want to hear from Dave and Bill (and maybe even Frank) but I know that's not going to happen. Just want to hear some positive things about Steve.

 

[D'Snowth]

Uhhhhh, "The Mouse" is just shorthand some people use when talking about the company.

You...you don't really think people are blaming Mickey Mouse himself, right? Right?

I'm pretty sure that's what she means when she refers to "the mouse."

 

[minor muppetz]

I think it's interesting that Disney felt they needed the Henson family's blessings to fire Steve Whitmire, as if they have final say (since they don't control who performs the Muppets anymore, Disney does). Makes me wonder if they asked the family for their opinion on whether to fire Steve, thinking the news would look better if they had the Henson approval (and if they didn't have the support at all, what would they have done?).

I have wondered how the other performers felt about this. I wouldn't be surprised if they felt conflicted - after all, they were close to him for so long, yet they probably still need/want the work (though at least three of the current performers are still active on Sesame Street). Of course it wouldn't be the first time that the cast or crew of something continued working in spite of somebody getting very badly fired or betrayed (though the original cast and crew of Saturday Night Live did leave when Lorne Michaels left because they felt he was betrayed by NBC for keeping the show on the air when he left, or something like that).

I've been surprised to hear about Steve making so many unreasonable demands and such. In interviews and his blog posts, he often seems to be very humble, and it's often been said that he's shy, unless that's changed over the years (I mostly hear about his shyness in regards to the Muppet Show/Fraggle Rock era), someone who might want to fight for what he thinks is right but who would still go with it if denied.

 

[MrBloogarFoobly]

https://stevewhitmire-muppetpundit.com/2017/07/18/early-influences-on-my-business-conduct/

And, it continues. Whitmire is citing an event nobody saw take place. This is all leaving such a bad taste in my mouth. It's really quite sad. The Muppets was one brand that survived death and corporate buy-outs, and now what? They're going to destroy a wonderful legacy with tabloid sniping?

Get it together, everybody.

 

[MuppetsRule]

https://stevewhitmire-muppetpundit.com/2017/07/18/early-influences-on-my-business-conduct/

And, it continues. Whitmire is citing an event nobody saw take place. This is all leaving such a bad taste in my mouth. It's really quite sad. The Muppets was one brand that survived death and corporate buy-outs, and now what? They're going to destroy a wonderful legacy with tabloid sniping?

Get it together, everybody.

The more Steve blogs the worse he looks

 

[ErinAardvark]

I'm pretty sure that's what she means when she refers to "the mouse."

Sorry, sometimes when I see "The Mouse," it just looks like people really are blaming Mickey Mouse.