A longtime writer for the beloved children's show Sesame Street, Mark Saltzman, appeared to confirm that Bert and Ernie were a "loving couple", only for its creators to deny the pair are together or have a sexual orientation.
Mr Saltzman recently told publication Queerty he had based the pair's dynamic on his own long-term relationship with film editor Arnold Glassman.
"I remember one time that a column from the San Francisco Chronicle, a preschooler in the city turned to mom and asked 'are Bert & Ernie lovers?' And that, coming from a preschooler was fun," he said.
"And that got passed around, and everyone had their chuckle and went back to it. And I always felt that without a huge agenda, when I was writing Bert and Ernie, they were. I didn't have any other way to contextualize them.
"I was already with Arnie when I came to 'Sesame Street.' So I don't think I'd know how else to write them, but as a loving couple."
But Sesame Workshop, which produces the show, denied the pair's relationship was anything more than platonic.
"As we have always said, Bert and Ernie are best friends. They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves," the non-profit organisation said.
"Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics (as most Sesame Street Muppets do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation."
In a more recent statement, the Sesame Workshop added Bert and Ernie were meant to teach children about "inclusion and acceptance".
"Sesame Street has always stood for inclusion and acceptance. It's a place where people of all cultures and backgrounds are welcome."
"Bert and Ernie were created to be best friends, and to teach young children that people can get along with those who are very different from themselves."
Social media users have been tweeting about Bert and Ernie since Mr Saltzman's comments.
Does it really matter?
Frank Oz, a puppeteer and longtime collaborator of Muppets creator Jim Henson, addressed the question.
"It seems Mr. 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," he wrote on Twitter.
Mr Oz later replied to a comment: "I created Bert. I know what and who he is."
Some social media users criticised Mr Oz for his "dismissive" comment.
"You're right. I have not had to think about my own sexual orientation as something that needs to be validated. Thank you for writing that. It must hurt. I'm so sorry. I just hate to have people seen as only one way when, straight or gay, we have so many more layers in us," he wrote in reply.
Bert and Ernie's relationship has long been questioned by viewers.
In 2011, gay rights activist Lair Scott launched an online petition signed by some 7,600 people that called for the pair to get married on the program to teach acceptance of gays and lesbians, spawning an extensive online debate on the topic as well as less popular pages opposing the two characters tying the knot.
In response, the show issued a similar statement to that released on Tuesday.
That did not prevent the pair from appearing on the cover of the prestigious New Yorker magazine in 2013, shortly after the US Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the country.
They were shown cuddling up on the couch watching a television that showed the Supreme Court judges.
- With AFP
