Steve from “Blue's Clues” Goes Viral with Emotional Video Once Again, This Time Without Saying a Word
The new video comes a few months after he posted another viral video appearing to listen to his followers in March
Steve Burns is taking a breather.
The Blue's Clues host, 51, shared a new TikTok video showing himself taking a break and taking in the environment outdoors on Wednesday, Nov. 6, one day after the 2024 presidential election.
In the short clip that quickly went viral, Burns is seen bringing out two mugs and placing one down below the camera. He then sips from one of the mugs as he rests his arms on a fence.
Burns doesn’t say a thing in the approximately minute-long clip, but sounds from the environment can be heard, including birds chirping and the wind. At the end of the clip, he nods to the camera and takes a breath.
Related: Blue's Clues Fans Celebrate Original Host Steve Burns on His 51st Birthday
Within a few hours, the video gained more than 1.7 million views and upwards of 400k likes. It also garnered more than 22,000 bookmarks and 15,000-plus comments, including several from people who noted that they were feeling emotional.
One woman wrote, “Steve I’m trying real hard not to cry at my big girl job today but it’s not easy,” while another said, “Everything feels so heavy today.”
“You are exactly what we need right now, ” another person commented.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
This comes a few months after the TV personality went viral for posting another clip on TikTok “checking in” on his followers. In that video, he could be seen asking his followers to “tell him what’s going on,” as he seemingly nodded to what was being said.
He spoke to Today in April about his decision to post that video, noting that it was his way of carrying on the “philosophy” of the beloved children's series Blue's Clues, which was “always about respect, and always about communicating with the home viewer from a place of understanding and without condescension," he shared.
“Back in the day, that meant talking about shapes and colors and graham crackers, but if you simply scale that up, now we're talking about the pandemic and student loans and adulting,” he explained. “We're talking about how difficult it is to move through this life as an adult person, but also how wonderful it is.”
“Blue’s Clues had so much silence in it. I simply wanted to do that,” he continued. “I want to see if that was possible. None of us thought that it would have the impact that it did, and we were so surprised.”
He went on to say that he was inspired by the “listening philosophy” of Fred Rogers, who noted that listening is “giving the gift” of “attention.”
“When we pay attention, we’re making an investment in someone else. And that’s the basis of compassion, in a lot of ways,” he said.
“I worry that these TikToks are making me seem like a therapist or someone who has some kind of greater understanding," he added. "My hope is that I just come off as a fellow passenger on the struggle bus, an ally."
Blue's Clues first premiered on Nickelodeon in 1996, starring Burns as leading man Steve. He remained on the series until 2000, when he was then replaced by Donovan Patton. Patton played Steve's brother Joe until the show ended in 2006.
In 2019, Josh Dela Cruz nabbed the leading role for the revival Blue's Clues & You! and remains a part of the franchise, including starring in the Paramount+ feature film released in 2022.