On Saturday, the official Nickelodeon Twitter account posted pictures of three characters in recognition of LGBTQ+ Pride Month: Korra, Schwoz Schwartz and SpongeBob SquarePants. While it was already canonical knowledge that Korra was bisexual, and that Schwoz is played by a transgender actor, SpongeBob's orientation and identity have always been something of a mystery. Saturday's tweet got the whole world talking.
Nickelodeon's tweet featured artwork of all three characters on rainbow-colored backgrounds, and read: "Celebrating [Pride] with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month." It did not specify how any of these characters identify within the LGBTQ+ spectrum, leaving fans to do some interpretation. With SpongeBob, many thought the possibilities were wide open, with some taking this to mean that he is gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender or some other combination therein.
For the most part, the conversation about SpongeBob and Nickelodeon's Pride tweet was all in good fun. Many fans argued that this was not a controversial revelation, as SpongeBob has always played it fast and loose with gender norms and stereotypes. In one episode, he even wore dresses and took on a maternal role while he and Patrick Star raised a baby clam together.
Some argued that SpongeBob's orientation has already been firmly established — in 2005, series creator Stephen Hillenburg told reporters from The Associated Press that SpongeBob is asexual. To many, this still makes him a member of the LGBTQ+ community, though some fans dispute this designation for him.
When Hillenburg made this claim, he was under intense scrutiny from anti-LGBTQ+ lobbying groups who believed that SpongeBob in some way promoted homosexuality to children, so fans believe that Hillenburg may have called SpongeBob asexual just to avoid this controversy. In point of fact, sea sponges do reproduce asexually.
Whatever SpongeBob's preferences are, fans made it clear that they love him regardless on Saturday, and the LGBTQ+ community was happy to count him among them. Here's a look at how Twitter responded to Nickelodeon's surprising Pride tweet.