Are Bert and Ernie gay? A Sesame Street writer confirms the puppets are a couple
After years of curiosity and speculation about the status of Bert and Ernie’s relationship, former Sesame Street writer Mark Saltzman is setting the record straight (no pun intended).
In an interview with Queerty, Mark explained that he wrote the characters of Bert and Ernie as “lovers”. In fact, their romantic dynamic was modeled after Mark’s own relationship with his partner Arnie.
“I always felt that without a huge agenda, when I was writing Bert & Ernie, they were [lovers],” Mark revealed. “I didn’t have any other way to contextualize them. The other thing was, more than one person referred to Arnie & I as Bert & Ernie.”
Saltzman claims he simply used his own perspective when writing for the characters. “I don’t think I’d know how else to write them, but as a loving couple,” he explained.
This issue has been so heavily debated that, in 2011, Sesame Street producers attempted to put the issue to bed when they released an official statement on the status of Bert and Ernie’s relationship.
Sesame Workshop Statement on Bert and Ernie Petitions
Bert and Ernie are 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.
The topic was resurrected in 2013 when Bert and Ernie found themselves on the cover of The New Yorker portraying a gay couple after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage.
Back in the 80’s, Mark says he pitched storylines to the education department of Sesame Street to discuss sexual health within the gay community on the show. He received pushback given the age demographic of Sesame Street’s audience.
UPDATE: Sesame Workshop has re-stated their stance that Bert and Ernie do not have any sexual orientation despite Mark’s explanation to the contrary.
Please see our statement below regarding Bert and Ernie. pic.twitter.com/6r2j0XrKYu
— Sesame Workshop (@SesameWorkshop) September 18, 2018
Okay people, let’s move on now…
Jessica Bradford is a writer for Starcasm.