Former writer Mark Saltzman suggests that the pop culture icons are analogs for his own relationship with acclaimed editor Arnold Glassman.
- Sep 19, 2018
AceShowbiz - A former writer of "Sesame Street" made a shocking claim, saying that Bert and Ernie are more than just friends. In a new interview with LGBTQ lifestyle website Queerty, Mark Saltzman suggests that the world's most beloved puppet roommates are gay lovers.
"I remember one time that a column from The San Francisco Chronicle, a preschooler in the city turned to mom and asked 'Are Bert and Ernie lovers?' " Saltzman revealed. "That coming from a preschooler was fun, and that got passed around, and everyone had their chuckle and went back to it."
He went on comparing his own relationship with acclaimed editor Arnold Glassman to the characters. "I always felt that without a huge agenda, when I was writing Bert and Ernie, they were. I didn't have any other way to contextualize them. The other thing was, more than one person referred to Arnie and I as 'Bert and Ernie,' " he explained.
"I don't think I'd know how else to write them, but as a loving couple. I wrote sketches…Arnie's OCD would create friction with how chaotic I was. And that's the Bert & Ernie dynamic," he added. When asked if Bert and Ernie were analogs for his relationship, he answered, "Yeah. Because how else? That's what I had in my life, a Bert & Ernie relationship. How could it not permeate? The things that would tick off Arnie would be the things that would tick off Bert."
Sesame Workshop, however, were quick to deny Satlzman's statement. Through a Twitter post, the show insisted that "Bert and Ernie are best friends." The show continued, "They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves."
Please see our statement below regarding Bert and Ernie. pic.twitter.com/6r2j0XrKYu
— Sesame Workshop (@SesameWorkshop) September 18, 2018
The tweet continued, "Even though they are identified as male characters and posess many human traits and characteristics (as most Sesame Street Muppets do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation."
