Bert and Ernie Are A Gay Couple, “Sesame Street” Writer Reveals

Well, here’s a fun fact for the day, your favorite childhood puppet duo, is actually a gay couple. 

Back in 1969, the educational children’s television show, “Sesame Street,” aired on PBS, which featured Jim Henson’s Muppets, short films, combined live action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. 

With a wide variety of famed friends, from Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, Zoe, Grover, Bert and Ernie, and Elmo, the show catapulted into legendary status with its longstanding success. 

But now, nearly 50 years since inception, a writer for the show is spilling the real tea about a few of the famous faces. 

Initially, Bert and Ernie were introduced as a pair of best friends with different personalities. While Ernie was portrayed as a free-spirited jokester, Bert was more of the obsessive friend, who’s often bored with his friend’s antics. 

After 49 years of speculation, the besties have officially come out to the world. 

According to TMZ, Mark Saltzman, who’s been with the Sesame Street team since 1984, revealed to Queerty that he originally wrote the two puppets as a gay couple, as a reflection of his own relationship with film editor Arnold Glassman. 

As he continued his explanation, he maintained that his decision to write the legendary puppets as a couple was not about pushing an agenda, but to highlight his life with Glassman, who he wrote as Bert.