Like Paul Rudd and Rihanna, some pop culture touchpoints are ageless. Bewitched, The Addams Family, Golden Girls, and (you might be surprised to learn) The Wiggles have all stood the test of time. Yes, that’s right, the multitalented, multi-colored-t-shirt-wearing musical group that brought you hits such as “Hot Potato, Hot Potato” and “The Wheels on the Bus” has a little something for everyone, but that’s not why I’m writing about them. This week, TikTok audiences are thirsting over The Purple Wiggle’s recent “Fruit Salad” video, making the band a cross-generational favorite.
Nineties and 2000s kids will recognize the catchy and colorful “Fruit Salad” song from the Wiggles’ 1994 “Yummy Yummy” album. Lyrics like “peel your bananas… toss in some some grapes” made global waves in both the culinary and choral scene.
The viral video shared earlier this week, in which the Purple Wiggle (born John Pearce) does more dancing than kitchen prep, has accumulated two million views and thousands of *appreciative* comments.
Many of Pearce’s newfound fans appear to be parents, with messages under the video thanking him for making family-friendly programming engaging. The comments from admirers offer him fond well-wishes like, “If you’re actually reading this, I hope you see a nice cloud today.”
But other comments feel a little less…family-friendly.
“My husband: ‘why are you listening to the wiggles on repeat?’ 😅” wrote one enthusiast of the popular dish.
“My kid: ‘I don’t want to watch wiggles.’ Me: ‘Yes we do’ 😅” said another fan. @stephaniedigirola noted, “Yesss fruit salad 😏 ” and @darthmars_, who has full faith in Pearce’s technique wrote, “In purple wiggle, we trust”
Pearce, who joined the Wiggles cast in 2021, regularly posts to TikTok in character, where he has amassed over 200k followers. While there’s no doubt he is beloved by all, even Pearce himself can poke fun at the comments. Just watch the whole video to see what I mean.
While questions remain about where Purple will take his act next, there’s no doubt that music lovers and fruit fans alike are hoping to see Purple Pearce take his performance act worldwide with one TikTok user writing “When are you guys doing a live tour? Asking for a friend 😅”
Personally, I love dinner theater, and my DMs are open if he ever decides to drop the recipe.