Teletubbies get ‘X-rated’ makeover for Gen Z and millennials, but not all are thrilled: ‘This is sacrilegious’

May 24, 2024

Is that Tinky Winky twerking?

Once upon a time, the Teletubbies were a cutesy quad of 10-foot, childlike humanoids sporting signature onesies.

The color-coded TV characters brought wholesome joy to infants, toddlers and tykes of the late 1990s and early aughts from their grassy hill house in Teletubbyland.

But now, the faux babies have become fashion-obsessed, booty-bouncing badasses.

And their “X-rated” makeover is breaking the internet.

“Come and RAVE with the Teletubbies,” wrote the foursome — comprised of plushy pals Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po — in the caption of a recent Instagram Reel.

The eye-popping post, topping 715,000 views, emerged as a promo for the kiddie crew’s new collaboration with San Francisco streetwear label, Dolls Kill.

But visuals of the once-snuggly sweeties shaking their stuffing to club music have outraged some Gen Zs and millennials who grew up watching their purple, green, yellow and red friends frolic under the beaming warmth of “Sun Baby.”

“This is sacrilegious to me,” commented a disapproving detractor.

“So gross, drug-oriented, pedophilic and wrong,” spat an equally perturbed spectator.

“The Teletubbies X-rated version,” another sneered.

In separate snippets, the cartoonish cuties can be seen gyrating to trendy tracks such as “I Luv It” by Camila Cabello and Playboi Carti, and jamming out to hits on Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” anthology.

The series of wild antics — presumed attempts at remaining pop-culturally relevant — have left confused commenters asking, “Isn’t this a kids’ show?”

But this isn’t the goo-goo-gaa-gaa group’s first social media scolding for inappropriateness.

Parents virtually spanked Tinky Winky after a resurfaced episode showed the purple plaything tickling Dipsy‘s green derrière with a party balloon in April 2023.

“What did I just watch?” questioned a mom who shared the shocking viral footage with her more than 70,000 TikTok followers.

“That was the most strangest children’s program I’ve ever seen,” wrote a creeped-out critic beneath the clip.

However, not all 20- and 30-somethings are giving the Tubbies’ newfound cheekiness a thumbs down.

In fact, some young adults find comfort in seeing their childhood idols mature into stylish party animals.

“Bringing nostalgia to your feed with a splash of sunshine and tubby custard,” said Claire, an adult fan of the Y2K show, while rocking the funky “Telly Memories Intarsia sweater” from the troupe’s edgy apparel line in a clip.

“We’re the Telletubby generation all grown up,” she added.

The viral “Harbin sisters,” a group of six voguish siblings, also wowed their more than 870,000 followers in saucy pieces from the Teletubby and Dolls Kill collection — including the $88 cow-printed, lime green-trimmed “Dipsy style faux fur coat” and the $78 “Po fuzzy jacket.”

Tubby-happy hipsters, too, stomped around in the gear on the desert grounds of Coachella this year.

But the not-so-babyish band is actually showing up late to its own apparel party.

New York fashion designer Christian Cowan previously premiered a line of Teletubbies togs, including a pair of neon green, knee-high “Dipsy” boots that retail for $2,500, in March 2023.

“We were throwing around lots of pop culture icons, and then it struck us, let’s do THE icons,” said Cowan following the debut of his duds — which garnered “big hugs” from the Tubbies.

“We treated Dipsy, Laa-Laa, Po & Tinky-Winky like the legends they are.”