VIDEO : Writer Says Bert and Ernie Are Gay But Producers Disagree

Bert and Ernie are finally free to love each other out and in the open. In an interview with Queerty, Sesame Street writer Mark Saltzman confirmed that he conceived of and wrote the longtime fictional roommates as a gay couple. According to Saltzman, he based their relationship on his own relationship with film editor Arnold Glassman. According to Saltzman, he and Glassman, who passed away in 2003, lived together during his time on the show.