The company appears to be giving people their freedom in viewing the relationship of the puppet roommates.
- Feb 7, 2019
AceShowbiz - People apparently are still hung up on finding out the actual relationship between Bert and Ernie from "Sesame Street". After a former writer of the fan-favorite show claimed that they are indeed a gay couple, the folks at Sesame Workshop finally address the matter.
Brown Johnson, the executive vice president of the Sesame Workshop tells The Hollywood Reporter that the company is giving people their freedom in viewing Bert and Ernie's relationship. "People can think whatever they want [about Bert and Ernie]," he says.
"You want to think they're gay? OK," he continues saying. "You want to think they're not gay? They're not gay."
The gay speculation first emerged back in September 2018 after Mark Saltzman suggested in his interview with LGBTQ lifestyle website Queerty that the puppet roommates were 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.
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."
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."
