Sesame Workshop has issued a statement explaining why it canceled plans to air a video of pop singer Katy Perry singing a duet with show’s puppet character Elmo on the iconic public television kids show “Sesame Street.” The decision to yank Perry’s video performance, which was scheduled to air later in the year, came after the Decency Police saw the video online and got their cami-knickers in a bunch over Katy’s outfit.

On the bright side, as one commenter on YouTube noted, “Wow, Sesame Street just got cool again.”

Sesame Workshop issued the following long-ish statement, which we bring to you in its entirety because it’s a great read:

“‘Sesame Street’ has a long history of working with celebrities across all genres, including athletes, actors, musicians and artists. ‘Sesame Street’ has always been written on two levels, for the child and the adult. We use parodies and celebrity segments to interest adults in the show because we know that a child learns best when co-viewing with a parent or caregiver. We also value our viewer’s opinions and particularly those of parents. In light of the feedback we’ve received on the Katy Perry music video which was released on YouTube only, we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of ‘Sesame Street,’ which is aimed at preschoolers. Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on YouTube.”

The Perry/Elmo video had, however, been expunged from the official YouTube “Sesame Street” page, which had been washed down with lye. OK, we made that last part up, but that’s a sight we’d love to “co-view”!

The video is, happily, still available on YouTube and elsewhere. In fact, Perry tweeted helpfully last week: “Wow, looks like my play date with Elmo has been cut short! If you still wanna play, see it at www.katyperry.com. Tag you’re it, Elmo!”

And, because no TV column about kids and, um, TV would be complete without a statement from watchdog group Parents Television Council, here’s a taste of its reaction to the news:

“The PTC applauds our friends at Sesame Workshop for choosing not to air the Elmo video with Katy Perry,” and “We are grateful to Sesame Workshop for their prudent action in this matter; and more importantly, we are grateful for their decades of service to children and families across the world.”

This is in marked contrast to what PTC’s Melissa Henson, director of communications and public education, had whipped up on Wednesday and dashed off to reporters before learning Sesame Workshop had pulled the plug.

“Has Sesame Street completely sold out, grooming today’s preschoolers to become tomorrow’s MTV viewers?” Henson wondered.

In case your mother has found a way to block video from your computer, we will now describe the one in question:

Katy Perry, who is perhaps still best know for her rendition of the tune “I Kissed a Girl,” is seen in front of a cute cartoon neighborhood, trying to get fuzzy little red puppet monster Elmo to play with her, while simultaneously singing a G-rated version of her tune “Hot ’N Cold.”

Perry is wearing an acid-green party dress which — here’s where you’ll need to pay close attention — has a hem that is above her knee. However, the dress’s state of above-the-knee-ness is not nearly so pronounced as that of the red number worn by Teen Abstinence Advocate Bristol Palin this week when she was dancing on the season debut of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” About 800,000 kids between the age of 2 and 11 were exposed to that number — not including those whose families DVR’d and are “co-viewing” as we write.

At the other end, while Palin’s dress went all the way up to her neck, Perry’s dress — wait a minute! — does as well.

But the top bits of Perry’s dress are made of netting, under which is seen actual skin. The acid-green fabric is attached to the netting and fashioned into a bustier top, which shows a bit of cleavage. Journalists who don’t get out much have described the dress as “low-cut.” To them we would like to say the following:

Journalists Who Don’t Get Out Much, this is no low-cut dress. What “Dancing with the Stars” co-host Brooke Burke wore on the first night of that ABC dance competition series this past Monday — that was a low-cut dress. That Versace Jungle Dress that Jennifer Lopez wore to the 2000 Grammys — that was a low-cut dress (and seen by the nearly 3 million kids between the ages of 2 and 11 years who watched that trophy show).

One YouTube commenter noted that Perry’s dress is about as provocative as Miss Piggy’s “Sesame Street” wardrobe — or that of Tinker Bell, another beloved kids’ character.