SpongeBob SquarePants Emerges as Powerful LGBTQ+ Icon
Have you heard our favorite sea sponge is a member of the LGBTQ community.
In the wake of Pride month, the Nickelodeon network announced, via Twitter, that our favorite fry cook at Krusty Krab, the illustrious SpongeBob, is a member of the LGBTQ community. In their formal coming out Tweet, Nickelodeon also paid homage to transgender Canadian actor Michael Cohen, who played Schwoz Schwartz in Henry Danger, and the bisexual fictional female lead Korra from The Legend of Korra.
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 title character of this nautical and nonsensical animated television series was confirmed as asexual by the creator, Stephen Hillenburg, in 2005, but the network only just came forward and officially announced his identity as a member of the LGBTQ community.
spongebob is asexual biromantic, thank you for coming to my tedtalk. pic.twitter.com/3K5wJDdBE4
— ♔ (@banditovee) June 13, 2020
Fiercely loyal SpongeBob fans were quick to comment on the breaking news and voice their support.
SpongeBob has been a gay icon for years! I literally had conversations about this with members of the LGBTQ+ community nearly 20 years ago! ❤️ https://t.co/kZZkZGmzPc
— Brittany Bailey (@BrittBaileyTV) June 13, 2020
Some fans revisited old episodes and highlighted the subtle clues that we overlooked.
Everyone shocked that nick tweeted out spongebob gay , when this literally was in an episode lmao pic.twitter.com/7X3WH2u4ts
— john (@iam_johnw) June 13, 2020
In the spirit of Summer: suns out, buns out. It’s time to break out the Krabby Patties and rewatch this iconic 12 season series with a new, acute lens; with the understanding that the lead protagonist is a member of the queer community. We applaud Nickelodeon for championing Pride month and making this exciting announcement.
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