Yesterday, a former writer for Sesame Street gave an interview to an online LGBT magazine Queerty on Sunday and claimed that Bert & Ernie were gay.
"I always felt that without a huge agenda, when I was writing Bert & Ernie, they were. I didn’t have any other way to contextualize them," writer, Mark Saltzman said. "I don’t think I’d know how else to write them, but as a loving couple."
Today, the makers of Sesame Street are denying the claim, saying that the characters are simply 'best friends.'
"They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves. Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics (as most 'Sesame Street' Muppets do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation."
See statement below.
The news of course made its rounds on social media and now people are criticizing "Sesame Street" for seeming anti-gay.
"i’m really disappointed in sesame workshop ... a gay man talked about his own experiences with writing the show and how he and his partner identified with Bert and Ernie ... and they have to stomp on all of that," one user tweeted.
The question is... is this really anti-gay or should we not be sexualizing a child's tv show either way? Listen to today's podcast of the Show where they discuss this very issue.
Photo: Getty images