June 14, 2020, 09:38 PM
SpongeBob SquarePants has been outed as gay after years of questions and hints about his sexuality.
Nickelodeon officially made the revelation on Saturday June 13 in a tweet about Pride month in June.
Celebrating #Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month 🌈
— Nickelodeon (@Nickelodeon) June 13, 2020
(🎨: by @ramzymasri) pic.twitter.com/pENmTaQB0h
The studio put up photos of three of their characters in a rainbow color background as in indication that they are part of the LGBTQ+ community as allies.
The tweet wrote: "Celebrating #Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month 🌈."
The other characters besides the Bikini Bottom dweller include Schwoz Schwartz from Henry Danger, and Korra from the Avatar spin-off show Legend of Korra
Why is SpongeBob gay?
Fans of SponeBob SquarePants have been suspicious about the yellow sponge's sexuality for a while now.
SpongeBob's relationship with Patrick the starfish has always been hinted at to be more than friends.
The show wasn't afraid to throw up gender-bender imagery that children would assume is harmless fun, while adults wink and nod at its subtle permissiveness.
https://twitter.com/hoe_vid_19/status/1271870099507621889
However, this outing of SpongeBob is revistionist.
Nickelodeon and the series creator, the late Stephen Hillenburg, spoke out firmly in the early 2000s that SpongeBob was not gay, but asexual.
The final word on the topic would not be forthcoming anytime soon as Hillenburg passed away in November 2018 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neuro-degenerative disease.
He was 57 and left behind his wife of 20 years and a son.
The Nickelodeon tweet can hardly be read any other way though, as it also featured two unmistakably LGBTQ+ characters.
The actor who plays Schwoz -- Michael D. Cohen -- is a transgender man in real life, a fact that was revealed recently.
He had transitioned decades ago.
Fans have also known for a while that Korra was gay/ bisexual, based on actions and how that was written into the script.
Top photos of intentionally and unintentionally gay SpongeBob via Nickelodeon
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