The popular children's programme Sesame Street on Friday put to rest rumours that odd couple roommates Bert and Ernie are gay, saying the puppets are just "best friends" and would not marry.
"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 public television programme said in a statement."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 move came in response to a Facebook campaign launched by gay rights activist Lair Scott of the northern US state of Illinois asking that Bert and Ernie get married on the program to teach acceptance of gays and lesbians.
"We are not asking that Sesame Street do anything crude or disrespectful. Only that they allow Bert and Ernie to marry or even add a transgender character to the show," reads an online petition signed by some 7,600 people.
"It can be done in a tasteful way. Let us teach tolerance of those that are different," it said.
The Facebook page, "liked" by more than 5,000 people, has spawned an extensive online debate on the topic as well as less popular pages calling for the two characters not to tie the knot...
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