From Muppet Wiki

Melissa Bowman, a Florida mother who claims that Elmo is threatening to kill her son.

In 1998, a Super Kmart in Lakewood, Colorado shelved some Cookie Monster t-shirts because they thought the audio device attached to it was inappropriate. While Cookie Monster is supposed to say "Time to truck" (because he's depicted as a dump truck driver), the last word reportedly sounded like it started with the letter "F".^[1]

In January 2006, Potty Time With Elmo, a book with sound buttons, was said by a Ellensburg, Washington woman to say "Uh oh, who wants to die?" The button was to say "Uh oh, who has to go?", but some of the book sound files compressed improperly. According to NBC, the books could be returned to the store of purchase, or replaced for free by calling (800) 595-8484.^[2] The book was reissued in 2008, replacing the controversial audio. (YouTube)

In 2007, another Elmo toy was reported to have encouraged kids to "beat up Elmo."^[3]

In February 2008, after replacing the battery of an Elmo Knows Your Name stuffed toy, the mother of two-year-old James Bowman claimed that it suddenly started saying "Kill James." Melissa Bowman of Lithia, Florida reported, "It's not something that really you would think would ever come out of a toy. But once I heard, I was just kind of distraught." The manufacturer, Fisher-Price, said that Bowman would get a voucher for a replacement doll, and would investigate the model to see if other dolls had the same malfunction.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ iwantmyrocky.com (now defunct; originally accessed December 22, 2008)
2. ↑ nbc4.com (now defunct; originally accessed January 26, 2006)
3. ↑ nbc4.com (now defunct; originally accessed February 23, 2008)
4. ↑ Peter Bernard and Ray Reyes, "Toddler's Elmo Doll Makes Death Threats, Family Says", News Channel 8 and The Tampa Tribune, February 21, 2008.