PBS and HBO’s Sesame Street Has Burt and Ernie Sexuality Controversy.
Time reports:
Sesame Street Writer Says He Was Misinterpreted on Bert and Ernie’s Sexuality
The former Sesame Street writer whose comments many on the internet interpreted as “confirmation” that Bert and Ernie are gay is now saying his comments were misinterpreted.
Mark Saltzman, a former writer on “Sesame Street” who is gay, said in in an interview that he took inspiration from his own relationship in writing the duo. “I don’t think I’d know how else to write them, but as a loving couple,” he told Queerty, a gay and lesbian news and entertainment site.
The statement made waves on the internet, with some excited over the news.
Sesame Workshop, the non-profit that produces Sesame Street, said in a statement that Bert and Ernie are puppets, “and do not have a sexual orientation.”
In a phone interview with The New York Times on Tuesday, Saltzman said: “As a writer, you just bring what you know into your work.” He added: “Somehow, in the uproar, that turned into Bert and Ernie being gay. There is a difference.”
He also told the Times that he thinks Sesame Street should feature a gay couple, but that they should be represented with human characters instead of puppets.
Frank Oz, who helped create the Bert and Ernie characters, said on Twitter that the two are not gay…
Here is Sesame Street’s official statement:
Interesting times.
