ABOVE: A Pride-related tweet made by Nickelodeon featuring SpongeBob SquarePants has led many to believe that the character is gay. (Photo from Nickelodeon’s Pride tweet)
Over the weekend, children’s television channel Nickelodeon tweeted out a post for Pride month that many interpreted as confirmation of the character SpongeBob SquarePants’ queerness.
Nickelodeon tweeted out June 13 the following message, “celebrating #Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month,” alongside a compilation photo of Nickelodeon characters. Two of these characters are known for their LGBTQ+ status: Korra, from the animated series “The Legend of Korra” is bisexual, and Michael D. Cohen, who played Schwoz on the sitcom “Henry Danger,” is a trans man. The inclusion of SpongeBob in a rainbow-tinted photo set immediately led to allegations that the yellow sea sponge is gay.
Celebrating #Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month 🌈
(🎨: by @ramzymasri) pic.twitter.com/pENmTaQB0h— Nickelodeon (@Nickelodeon) June 13, 2020
The hashtag #SpongeBobisgay quickly spread on Twitter, with many chiming in with their reactions to the news.
Twitter user Mariya4Plastic responded by posting a photo of SpongeBob fan art, which appeared to support the notion of SpongeBob being gay. Ben Yahr decided to use the revelation as a form of social commentary by connecting it with the recent Supreme Court ruling that LGBTQ+ workers are protected under the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Nickelodeon:
Meanwhile spongebob somewhere after his shift at nick studios: pic.twitter.com/MVs2TPuEh2
— Shintaro (@Mariya4Plastic) June 14, 2020
Spongebob is protected under civil rights laws from being fired on the basis of sexuality or gender identity! pic.twitter.com/vIczc0RjMS
— Ben Yahr (@benyahr) June 15, 2020
iamtyBaby did not express surprise at the news and referenced previous looks of SpongeBob throughout the series as evidence of the character’s sexuality.
So y’all are gonna sit here and tell me you had no idea spongebob was gay, when all these iconic fits were poppin off. Don’t act. #Pride #SpongebobIsGay pic.twitter.com/rMti7gcph9
— lil quarantine boi (@iamtyBaby) June 14, 2020
In a 2005 interview, “SpongeBob SquarePants” creator Stephen Hillenburg responded to a controversy that the friendship of SpongeBob and Patrick Star was “promot[ing] a homosexual lifestyle” by denying the assertion that these characters were gay.
“We never intended them to be gay,” Hillenburg said at the time. “I consider them to be almost asexual. We’re just trying to be funny and this has got nothing to do with the show.” Hillenburg died in November 2018 from the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
“SpongeBob SquarePants” is currently in its 12th season and was renewed for its 13th season in July 2019. A CG-animated spinoff, “Kamp Koral,” has been greenlit by Nickelodeon and a theatrical film, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run,” is slated for release on Aug. 7.
