LGBT rights and same-sex marriage supporters have been celebrating since the Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Proposition 8, and to mark this historic event, the New Yorker released a cover depicting long thought-to-be gay Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie snuggling in a silhouette as they watch the ruling on TV, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
The Sesame Street characters are long-time roommates who many fans have speculated for years are a gay couple in the popular children's television show. Sesame Workshop made a statement in 2011, proclaiming that Bert and Ernie are just "best friends."
Sesame Street has used puppets to tackle controversial issues before in a kid-friendly way, including Kami, their furry five-year old muppet that is HIV-positive on the South African and Nigerian's versions of the television show. But according to the Workshop, the popular cultural notion of Bert and Ernie being involved in a relationship is merely a myth.
"They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves," Sesame Workshop said to The Hollywood Reporter at the time. "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."
The statement about the puppets' lack of sexual orientation was made around the time same-sex marriage was legalized in New York, spurring many fans to create a petition to let Bert and Ernie marry on the show.
Jack Hunter is the artist behind the new cover, titled "Bert and Ernie's Moment of Joy," which was originally solicited to a Tumblr blog. "It's amazing to witness how attitudes on gay rights have evolved in my lifetime," Hunter said to the New Yorker's Culture Desk. "This is great for our kids, a moment we can all celebrate."
Many people are fans of the cover, finding it touching and a good reminder of how the Supreme Court's decisions affected same-sex couples.
