SpongeBob SquarePants is officially part of the LGBTQ+ community following an announcement by Nickelodeon.
The channel's official Twitter account posted a tweet to celebrate Pride Month which read: "Celebrating Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month".
The message was accompanied by an image of SpongeBob wearing a rainbow striped tie and with a rainbow tint drawn on his body, along with images of established LGBTQ+ characters Schwoz Schwartz from Henry Danger and Korra from Avatar: The Last Airbender spin-off Legends of Korra, both of whom are also wearing rainbow colours.
Related: Netflix defends its gay characters from homophobic trolling
Nickelodeon turned off replies to the tweet except for people they follow but the few comments on the tweet celebrated the news and other fans also praised Nickelodeon and SpongeBob on their own accounts.
One wrote, "Did they just confirm SpongeBob as gay and then turn off the replies. If so I love this for him", while another commented, "so happy for SpongeBob ... really though you love to see it".
Another fan simply wrote, "We stan SpongeBob", with another adding, "asexual is trending solely because of SpongeBob and I love it! We support you SpongeBob!"
SpongeBob SquarePants has been airing since 1999 and has so far produced 12 seasons and two feature-length movies, 2004's The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and 2015's Sponge Out Of Water, with a third movie called Sponge On The Run scheduled for release in August 2020 (which is set to feature an incredible cameo by Keanu Reeves).
SpongeBob SquarePants airs on Nickelodeon, with some episodes also available on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
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Reporter & Sub-Editor, Digital Spy Susannah is a freelance writer and sub-editor, specialising in the entertainment industry. She graduated in 2014, with a BA in English and American Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Producing. Sheβs been writing for Digital Spy ever since, after first getting involved through work experience, and has written hundreds of stories for the site on a range of topics, from The Sims to Doctor Who. Susannah has also written for Reveal Magazine. Her special interests are soaps (her Mastermind subject would be 2000s Coronation Street), Marvel and Star Wars. She can also quote far too many lines from Friends and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
