A decade ago, the cultural touchstone of Frozen entered the conversation. The phenomenon still remains as fervent as ever, with two more sequels in the works from Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Yet, the week of Thanksgiving in 2013 also brought a different kind of touchstone. Something culturally niche, yet just as lasting. Lady Gaga and The Muppets Holiday Spectacular aired on ABC on November 28th, 2013 and in that moment, everything changed. Forever.
The 90-minute special aired on ABC as a follow-up to 2011’s A Very Gaga Thanksgiving. The first special was a stripped-down look at Lady Gaga and her career, featuring acoustic covers from her album Born This Way and a duet with Tony Bennett.
For some inexplicable (yet delightful) reason, the 2013 special threw that entire mindset into the garbage and instead delivered a technicolor camp fest, harkening back to the variety special of the late 60s. Alongside Lady Gaga and The Muppets, special guests Kristen Bell, Elton John, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and RuPaul join the festivities. It’s part holiday celebration, part variety show, and part promotional for Lady Gaga’s album, ARTPOP.
The show aired with subpar ratings and reviews — though Marissa G. Muller of Rolling Stone did mention that “the whole affair was relatively conservative for Gaga and weirdly progressive for the Muppets.” The mix of current pop music, holiday classics, Muppet interstitials, and overall tomfoolery might have been too much for viewers at the time.
However, a decade later, the special has gained cult status and has easily become one of Twitter’s favorites.
Now, sadly, this special has not been made available outside of YouTube. It ceases to exist within Disney quintillion* streaming services. (*don’t fact check this)
Many self-proclaimed “bros” pinned for the release of the Snyder cut of Justice League a few years back, getting Warner Bros to release the film on Max. It was four hours, people were thrilled, I was happy for them. It wasn’t until recently when I realized that this Gaga/Muppets special is my Snyder Cut. Nowhere do we have an HD cut of the special available to stream. On top of that, where’s the album? Why can’t I listen to The Muppets joining Gaga on “Venus” or RuPaul singing “Fashion” whilst Lady Gaga is dressed as the most gorgeous turkey baster you’ve ever seen.
Disney+ has become a hub for concerts and music films in recent years, with BTS, Beyonce, The Beatles, and U2 calling the streaming service home. Why not add Gaga and Kermit and Miss Piggy to the fray?
In the words of Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark on American Crime Story: Disney+, I am begging you from my soul. Release Lady Gaga and The Muppets Holiday Spectacular. We deserve it. We deserve art.
(P.S. While you’re at it, wanna greenlight a sequel so Piggy and Gaga can sing “Rain On Me” together?)