Bert and Ernie are Gay
Source: Sesame Street
Source: Sesame Street
Sesame Street is saying that puppets "do not have a sexual orientation"
Bert and Ernie are the two most iconic characters from Sesame Street. They also happen to be gay. In a new interview with the Queerty, published on September 16th, Mark Saltzman, a writer on Sesame Street, confirmed that the two best buds, who live on 123 Sesame Street, are actually gay lovers.
Saltzman, who joined the writing staff of Sesame Street in 1984, said that not only are the two gay, but they are a reflection of his relationship with his partner, film editor Arnold Glassman.
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In the interview Saltzman said:
I was Ernie. I look more Bert-ish. And [Arnold] as a film editor — if you thought of Bert with a job in the world, wouldn’t that be perfect? Bert with his paper clips and organization? And I was the jokester...So it was the Bert and Ernie relationship, and I was already with Arnie when I came to Sesame Street.”
Saltzman also added “I don’t think I’d know how else to write them, but as a loving couple,” he said.
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There have been gay rumors swirling around Bert and Ernie for years.
Each time those associated with Sesame Street denied that the two were a couple. In 1994, workshop head Gary Knell said. “They are not gay, they are not straight, they are puppets. They don’t exist below the waist.”
Then, in 2011, producers said the puppets “do not have a sexual orientation.” On Tuesday, September 18th, Sesame Street tweeted an official statement about the revelation.
They again said that Bert and Ernie do not have any sexual orientation.
