Nickelodeon unveils Spongebob Squarepants as a member of the LGBT community[photo]

In pride month, Nickelodeon is choosing to honour some of its LGBTQ+ characters. In addition to Spongebob, they also included Schwoz Schwartz from Henry Danger and Korra from Avatar: The Legend of Korra.

The popular children’s network took to Twitter to share the tweet writing: “Celebrating #Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month.”

The tweet was accompanied by colourful depictions of the characters by artists Ramzy Masri. 

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

Although Nickelodeon did not specify Spongebob’s sexuality in the announcement, there were mixed reactions, with some saying that the entertainment channel were just queer-baiting, while others described Spongebob as a gay icon. 

It is true that in 2005, the show’s creator, Stephen Hillenburg that he does not think of Spongebob as gay or straight, that he just thought of Spongebob and his best friend, Patrick as asexual. 

“It doesn’t have anything to do with what we’re trying to do,” Hillenburg told Reuters. “We never intended them to be gay. I consider them to be almost asexual. We’re just trying to be funny, and this has got nothing to do with the show.”

So, what do you think of this announcement? Do you think Nickelodeon is just trying to be inclusive? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.