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According to The Hill, defenders of PBS andNPR continue to defend themselves by pointing to the importance of their longstanding signature program, Sesame Street. “This month and every month, we want to uplift and celebrate our LGBTQIA+ family, friends, and communities.”
“From our Sesame Street family to yours, happy pride," Elmo added.
And… there’s not a lot. Anyone raising an eyebrow at that lyric could easily write it off as a child having a father and a step-father, or even a wacky Three Men and a Baby situation.
The next reference wouldn’t come for another 37 years(!!!). "But what makes us a family is that we love each other."
Alan Muraoka, the co-director of the episode and an actor who plays the owner of Hooper’s Store on the show, shared his joy about the special storyline.
"Sesame Street has always been a welcoming place of diversity and inclusion," Muraoka wrote on Facebook.
For the first time, Sesame Street brought us two members of the LGBT community who have the potential to actually be characters. However, many online critics didn't see it that way and felt the message was intended for "grooming" children. This is disgusting indoctrination and Sesame Street staff/PR deserves all the backlash they get for it.
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Sesame Street is also known for its support of marginalized communities, including the LGBTQ+ community.
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'Sesame Street' sparked controversy after sharing a post to honor Pride Month.
On June 1, 2025, Sesame Street joined many other platforms recognizing the beginning of Pride Month.
Bert and Ernie are indeed a gay couple, 'Sesame Street' writer claims
Iconic "Sesame Street" puppets Bert and Ernie are a couple, according to a former writer for the show.
In an exclusive interview with with blog "Queerty," Mark Saltzman said he felt that when he was writing Bert and Ernie, he was writing them as a couple and basing their interactions on his own experiences.
"I always felt that without a huge agenda, when I was writing Bert and Ernie, they were," Saltzman told Queerty.
In “Elmo’s Word: Father’s Day”, Smartie displays a photo of a kid with two dads. The show also answered a question about long-time characters and roommates Bert and Ernie, saying in 2018 that they are not gay, they are "best friends."
This story was originally published on TODAY.com.
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‘Sesame Street’ Faced Backlash for Posting Pride Month Message on Social Media
The iconic show was accused of "grooming" children with its annual message to the LGBTQ+ community.
The iconic children's television show Sesame Street has always reflected the times.
Elmo and I wanted to share that everyone is always welcome on Sesame Street,” the West Side Story star said at the time. "I didn’t have any other way to contextualize them. The social media post showed many of the show's memorable characters, including Elmo, Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, , and others holding hands to make the Pride rainbow.
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 workshop said in a statement to NBC News.
Saltzman, who wrote for "Sesame Street" from 1981 until 1990, said the duo's relationship was modeled after his own life with film editor Arnold Glassman, who was Saltzman's partner until Glassman's death in 2003.
"I was Ernie.
"Kids aren’t sexual.
There are even fewer if we limit it to actual “characters”, meaning not just off-handed references or abstract concepts.
Sesame Street‘s very first nod toward the acknowledgement of the existence of queer culture comes from the 1981 song “We All Sing with the Same Voice“, which features the lyric “I’ve got one daddy, I’ve got two”.
"THIS IS CRIMINAL.