Bert and Ernie – the cohabiting male puppets from the children’s TV programme Sesame Street – are “best friends,” the show’s producers said Tuesday, denying comments from one of its writers who said they were a gay couple.
Writer Mark Saltzman, who joined the show in 1984, told LGBTQ news website Queerty that the puppet duo was based on his relationship with film editor Arnold Glassman.
“I always felt that without a huge agenda, when I was writing Bert and Ernie, they were [a couple],” Saltzman said. “I didn’t have any other way to contextualize them.”
Saltzman added: “I don’t think I’d know how else to write them, but as a loving couple.”
The show’s production company, however, denied Saltzman’s comments.
“As we have always said, Bert and Ernie are best friends,” Sesame Workshop said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits, they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation.”
“Sesame Street has always stood for inclusion and acceptance,” the company said in a second statement. “It’s a place where people of all cultures and backgrounds are welcome.”
The nature of the puppets’ relationship – they share a bedroom but sleep in separate beds – has long been a subject of speculation.
A 2013 issue of the New Yorker magazine featured on its cover a drawing of Ernie resting his head on Bert’s shoulder while watching news of a Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage on TV.
DPA
