Bert and Ernie aren't gay, creator Frank Oz confirms

Started by Munch, September 21, 2018, 05:52:01 AM

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Munch

Its been one of the longest examples of the LGBT using supposed characters as an example of a same sex couple living together, even though the show never hinted at them being anything besides friends.

Well now the characters creator Frank Oz came forward and confirms no, they are not.

And people aren't happy about it.

'Political correctness is fascism pretending to be manners' - George Carlin

Baruch

They are gay, not Gay?  Guess the muppets out there can be triggered by anything.  Next thing you will be telling me that Batman isn't a pedophile.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

Shiranu

QuoteWell now the characters creator Frank Oz came forward and confirms no, they are not.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/19/17879916/bert-ernie-gay-sesame-street-mark-saltzman-controversy

QuoteAccording to Saltzman, during his 15-year tenure with the show, he modeled Bert and Ernie after his own romantic relationship with the late Arnold Glassman, even going so far as to incorporate their real-life quirks into his interpretation of the characters. Adorable!

The guy who actually wrote for the characters said they were gay, and I think he is a bit more important than the guy who came up with the concept. Their actions are what matter at the end of the day, and their actions were written to be "gay".

Also, if  you read the initial press release... it's a train wreck. It talks about how none of the puppets have any sort of sexual orientation, which is obvious bullshit if you know about Kermit/Ms. Piggy or Oscar/Grundgetta (or the Counts fulfilling the Dracula stereotype and knowing many women).

They went back and removed any mention of sexual orientation in their next release, perhaps realising that they had just stuck their foot in their mouth... so frankly their opinion on what the characters are or aren't is somewhat irrelevant at this point.

Their actions showed that homophobia does still run in modern society, even amongst "progressive" programming like Sesame Street they have to toe certain lines to avoid pissing people off. If they hadn't started by making a simply factually wrong statement and then continued to contradict the characters' writer reason for writing them the way then did, that would be one thing. They just dropped the ball.
"A little science distances you from God, but a lot of science brings you nearer to Him." - Louis Pasteur

Munch

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_and_Ernie

Created by frank oz and Jim Henson

I think their creator has a bigger say on the characters personality then someone simply puppeteering them
'Political correctness is fascism pretending to be manners' - George Carlin

Munch

#4
Quote from: Shiranu on September 21, 2018, 07:15:22 AM
https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/19/17879916/bert-ernie-gay-sesame-street-mark-saltzman-controversy

The guy who actually wrote for the characters said they were gay, and I think he is a bit more important than the guy who came up with the concept. Their actions are what matter at the end of the day, and their actions were written to be "gay".

So according to you, that means making captain america into a hidden Nazi is perfectly acceptable, despite his creator being Jewish?

Also Dumbledore was never written as gay in the movies, but later his creator said he actually was gay. Just because someone could go over the movies claiming there is no evidence of him being gay, that doesn't matter, the original writer of the character said he is gay.

The creator of the character has more weight in what said character is,  especially when said creator is still alive to say it, then what a writer who writes about it or has their interpretation of the character.
'Political correctness is fascism pretending to be manners' - George Carlin

GSOgymrat

From Josh Barro's Twitter:

Bert and Ernie aren't a couple.  They're exes who still live together and whose excessive emotional involvement with each other prevents them from forming new, healthy romantic relationships.


Ernie: I don't have to go out if it's weird.

Bert: No, you're single. Go dance up a storm!

Ernie: It's literally just a book club.

Bert: Book club... warehouse party... whatever. You don't owe me anything.

Ernie: ... okay...

Bert: I'll just die here alone, it's fine. Go have fun!





The Bert & Ernie being gay situation illustrates how people different people approach LGBTQ issues. I see the ambiguity of their relationship as much queerer, and a lot more fun, than having them be overtly gay. Other people want representation. As a gay kid, I didn't look to puppets for affirmation, I looked to adults. I wanted to see that adults treated LGBTQ people as normal human beings.


Unbeliever

I wonder if anyone ever asked if Oscar and Felix were gay?
God Not Found
"There is a sucker born-again every minute." - C. Spellman

Draconic Aiur

#8
Looks can be deceiving but this is a kids show. So I doubt the creator mad a few hints on purpose, maybe a mistake or too when the characters were in bed together.

The thing that they are gay was obvious from adult standpoints but children say thy're friends see. All about prospective.

Mr.Obvious

Just saying that for straight puppets, they spend alot of time with something shoved up their rears.

(And yes. I know not all gay men like anal and there are straight people who do. It's a Joke.)
"If we have to go down, we go down together!"
- Your mum, last night, requesting 69.

Atheist Mantis does not pray.

Munch

Quote from: Mr.Obvious on September 21, 2018, 02:48:04 PM
Just saying that for straight puppets, they spend alot of time with something shoved up their rears.

(And yes. I know not all gay men like anal and there are straight people who do. It's a Joke.)

I'm so monumentally offended by this statement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSObmZLRIEk
'Political correctness is fascism pretending to be manners' - George Carlin

Unbeliever

God Not Found
"There is a sucker born-again every minute." - C. Spellman

Shiranu

QuoteSo according to you, that means making captain america into a hidden Nazi is perfectly acceptable, despite his creator being Jewish?

No, and I don't think I should have to explain to you the fundamental differences between a hateful ideology and a biological condition.

QuoteAlso Dumbledore was never written as gay in the movies, but later his creator said he actually was gay. Just because someone could go over the movies claiming there is no evidence of him being gay, that doesn't matter, the original writer of the character said he is gay.

Firstly, Harry Potter started as a series of books which J.K. Rowling had complete creative control over, which is different than a muppet created by one person and then having all it's actions and speech written by another.

Secondly, there is no evidence that Dumbledore is gay or straight so it is entirely in the hands of the creator to decide that one. His sexual orientation doesn't clash with the cannon in one way or another, so it is really irrelevant.

QuoteThe creator of the character has more weight in what said character is,  especially when said creator is still alive to say it, then what a writer who writes about it or has their interpretation of the character.

Why?

If I created a character right now, and then delegated it's writing to you, why would my opinion be more important than yours (when you are putting me work into the character development anyways)?

Now imagine I am saying the character likes blueberries, even though you have consistently written about his aversion to blueberries and in every episode of the show he has shown a tendency to like blueberries. Would the fact I say he likes blueberries mean that, despite all evidence to the contrary, it is true... just because I created him?
"A little science distances you from God, but a lot of science brings you nearer to Him." - Louis Pasteur

Baruch

Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

SGOS

Quote from: Unbeliever on September 21, 2018, 01:30:58 PM
I wonder if anyone ever asked if Oscar and Felix were gay?
They were the odd couple.  Everything about them was all mixed up, so if one was gay and the other was straight, that would pretty much fit with the story line, no matter what sexual orientation you attached to one or both of them.

Incidentally back in the late sixties, I shared an apartment with another guy.  We were both straight.  He was a jock like Oscar, but instead of being a slob like Oscar, he was excessively neat.  He even ironed his underwear.  He also took bubble baths, and there was always a big box of Mr. Bubble in the bathroom, although when kidded about it, he insisted it was to help fight bathtub ring.  This may have been true, but I was never sure.

I was the slob, which came to a head one day as he was vacuuming the rug and I was just sitting there not lifting a finger to help.  He was so neat, it just never got dirty enough for me to bother cleaning; We had serious arguments over house cleaning. The final touch after all his cleaning was to put a dish of nuts and candies on the coffee table.  I would gobble them up in one sitting, which pissed him off because the dish was always empty, and it destroyed the ambiance he was trying to create.   
   
I played basketball on the town team, but it was purely recreational on my part, while he was the quintessential jock and played college football and wrestled.  He coached high school football after he graduated college, and was a state certified wrestling referee who was highly sought after in tournaments. 

I was dating a woman, but I could never get to second base with her.  When she met my roommate, she went gaga.  I'm sure it was because he was built like an Adonis.   Then they started to date, and she was always trying to get him to have sex with her, which he whined about because he was a Catholic and didn't believe in premarital sex.

My friends started calling us the odd couple.  That was an interesting year.