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Ex-Sesame Street writer claims Bert and Ernie are gay

The show responds, claims they're just 'best friends'.

For years, viewers have speculated on the sexual orientation of children’s characters Bert and Ernie – the worlds most beloved puppet roommates. 

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According to a new interview with former Sesame Street writer Mark Saltzman by LGBTQI lifestyle website Queerty, the duo are ‘more than just friends.’ 

Saltzman told the outlet, ‘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?’ That coming from a preschooler was fun, and that got passed around, and everyone had their chuckle and went back to it’

bert and ernie
(Credit: Getty)

Saltzman then compared the relationship to that of his own with acclaimed editor Arnold Glassman.

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‘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 contextualise them. The other thing was, more than one person referred to Arnie and I as ‘Bert and Ernie,’’ he said. 

However, since that interview Sesame Workshop has refuted Saltzman’s claims. 

As we have always said, 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,’ the tweet reads. ‘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.’ 

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