Yoda actor and Bert creator Frank Oz denies Sesame Street character is gay and says ‘I know what and who he is’
Frank Oz, the man who created grumpy Muppet Bert, poured cold water over claims the character and his live-in pal Ernie were gay lovers
MANY Muppet fans were left heartbroken when Sesame Street poured cold water over one of its writer's claims that live-in characters Bert and Ernie were gay.
Now Bert's creator Frank Oz has also disagreed with Mark Saltzman, who said he based the characters on his own gay relationship, by tweeting: "I created Bert. I know what and who he is."
Sesame Street has since been accused of double standards for saying the duo are "just puppets... with no sexual orientation" when, only three years ago, it confirmed Kermit and Miss Piggy were in a "romantic relationship".
Yoda actor Oz, 74, who has voiced the beloved yellow puppet since 1969, was responding directly to claims made by longtime script and songwriter Saltzman.
Saltzman, who joined the iconic kids' show in 1984, effectively "outed" Bert and Ernie in what proved to be a .
He said he based them on his own relationship with film editor Arnold Glassman, ending a decades-long debate over whether the Muppets who shared a basement apartment on 123 Sesame Street, but slept in different beds, were lovers.
Unfortunately for many, Oz poured cold water over the revelation last night.
In his original post, the Hereford-born actor and puppeteer said: "It seems Mark Saltzman was asked if Bert & Ernie are gay.
"It's fine that he feels they are. They're not, of course. But why that question? Does it really matter?
"Why the need to define people as only gay? There's much more to a human being than just straightness or gayness."
The origins of Bert and Ernie
Comic duo Bert and Ernie were jointly created by English-born actor Frank Oz and American puppeteer Jim Henson.
Henson started by performing Bert and Oz voicing Ernie but after a few rehearsals, they switched roles.
The famous pair were apparently the only characters to feature in the July 1969 pilot episode.
They are also among a handful of characters to appear on The Muppet Show and the 1974 Muppet Valentine Show.
Mark Saltzman, who suggested the characters were gay, began working on the show in New York in 1984.
He said he wrote the characters based on his own same sex relationship with Arnold Glassman.
But Jon Stone, another writer on the show, said they were based on the real life frienship between Oz and Henson.
The idea behind the characters was to show that two people with wildly different personalities could still get on.
Social media turned on Oz for shattering the hearts of millions so brutally and argued the characters have evolved beyond their original parameters into icons for gay young people.
Reed Brice wrote: "You may have created him, but you don't seem to realise what he meant to thousands of little boys growing up.
"You digging in your heels (and wrongly conflating romantic orientation with sexual orientation) with what seems like disgust is disappointing."
Smith Knight added: "Some kid's who watched Sesame Street were gay. Like me. I loved Sesame Street and I was gay.
"But I wasn't allowed to see people who were like me on TV, and that SAID something to me."
An anonymous user said: "Woulda thought you coulda kept your a** out of this conversation, for the sake of both Ernie and Bert."
Glassman's nephew Keith today told Sun Online he was "very proud" of Saltzman for lifting the lid on Bert and Ernie.
He added: "Always have been [proud]. Two of the most wonderful people we have ever known."
Bert and Ernie's most loving moments
They were the original odd couple: Ernie the carefree goofball to Bert's serious and easily-riled grouch.
But amid all the squabbling and pranks, the pair shared touching moments of real affection and joy.
Here are just a few...
Bert and Ernie do Christmas
Bert is in the bath when he gets a brilliant idea of what to get Ernie: A soap dish for his yellow rubber duck.
Moments later, Ernie finds one of Bert's beloved paperclips on the ground and decides he's going to get him a box to place them in.
But Ernie has no money, so he trades his little ducky for a cigar box at Mr Hooper's pawn shop.
Bert too is a little short of cash so he swaps what he brands the "greatest paper clip collection in the Western world" for the plate.
The pair are touched to discover the sacrifice the other made for them and in the end, Mr Hooper returns their beloved items.
50 shades of Ernie
Ernie decides to play a little game: He puts on a blindfold and has a little rummage around their apartment to see if he can guess what he's feeling.
The first thing he reaches, of course, is Bert's bouffant black hair.
"It's kind of soft and fluffy-like," Ernie starts. "And it's sticking straight up like a shaggy rug."
With Bert getting more frustrated, Bert moves down to his bath sponge-like nose.
Ernie's hands move almost off camera (to his arm) as he says: "It feels sort of smooth and thin. It's floppy like a garden hose!"
The 'friendship' test
Bert's reading a riveting book about oatmeal when Ernie comes straight out with it: "Bert, do you like me?"
His pal replies: "Of course I like you, you're my best friend."
Ernie's satisfied but he has another test for his housemate: He goes off camera and returns with a rather garish hat on his head.
"Would you still like me if I wore fruit on my head?" he asks, to which Bert's answer is still yes.
Ernie replaces Bert's nose
Somehow, Bert's nose has fallen clean off his face and the monobrowed-Muppet needs help getting it back on.
Of course Ernie can't resist the opportunity to have some fun at his mate's expense and places it on his cheek.
"I don't think that's quite right," Bert says in his trademark nasally tone.
Ernie gets Bert a puppy
What relationship (of any kind) is truly complete without a pet?
Ernie saw to that in typically thoughtful fashion when he surprised his mate with an adorable dog.
After some unsuccessful guessing at what the surprise could be, he reveals that he's brought home.
Thankfully Ernie loves him and the video ends with them arguing over whether they should call him Norman or Godzilla the Wonder Dog.
On the characters' sexuality, Keith said: "Enjoyed them as a child, never thought about their sexuality. Who cares."
Saltzman told Queerty that he would tell people the duo were based on him and long-term partner Glassman, adding: "I was Ernie."
But he appeared to pull a U-turn last night, telling the New York Times his comments were misinterpreted.
Saltzman said he and Glassman were like Bert and Ernie, opposites who found a way to love each other.
He added: "As a writer, you just bring what you know into your work. Somehow, in the uproar, that turned into Bert and Ernie being gay."
The show's creators were very quick to reject claims they were a couple yesterday, describing them as "best friends" and "puppets... who do not have a sexual orientation".
Eagle-eyed fans accused them of hypocrisy because beloved frog Kermit and Miss Piggy had been in a relationship for years.
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They shared a statement from Kermit's official Twitter account from 2015 in which he announced the puppets were "terminating their romantic relationship".
It added: "Our personal lives are now distinct and separate and we will be seeing other people, pigs, frogs et al.";
Meanwhile LGBT activists have accused the show of being transphobic, saying "a person doesn't need a penis to be a man, let alone love another man".
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