Sesame Street says Bert and Ernie are NOT Gay

A longtime Sesame Street writer recently claimed that he based Bert and Ernie on his own same-sex romance.

“I always felt that without a huge agenda, when I was writing Bert and Ernie, they were [gay],” said writer Mark Saltzman.

Meanwhile, Sesame Street Workshop told The Blast that Bert and Ernie “are best friends” who “do not have a sexual orientation.”

Muppeteer Frank Oz also refuted Saltzman’s assertion that Bert and Ernie were gay, adding, “Why the need to define people as only gay? There’s much more to a human being than just straightness or gayness.”

A longtime Sesame Street writer brought Bert and Ernie out of the closet in a recent interview with the website Queerty.

Mark Saltzman claims that he based the cohabiting duo on his own 20-year romance with partner Arnold Glassman, who died in 2003. “I always felt that without a huge agenda, when I was writing Bert and Ernie, they were [gay],” Saltzman asserted.

But Sesame Street Workshop contradicted Saltzman’s statement, telling The Blast, “Bert and Ernie are best friends…They remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation.” Legendary Muppeteer Frank Oz, who says he “created Bert,” also weighed in, telling The Blast, “It seems Mr. Mark Saltzman was asked if Bert and Ernie are gay. It’s fine that he feels they are. They’re not, of course. But why that question? Does it really matter? Why the need to define people as only gay? There’s much more to a human being than just straightness or gayness.”