The makers of “Sesame Street” say Bert and Ernie are not gay. The statement came on Tuesday after former “Sesame Street” writer Mark Saltzman gave an interview to online LGBT magazine Queerty Sunday asserting that the the classic feuding Muppet characters were gay.

“I always felt that without a huge agenda, when I was writing Bert & Ernie, they were. I didn’t have any other way to contextualize them,” Saltzman said. “I don’t think I’d know how else to write them, but as a loving couple.”

“Sesame Street”, a popular children’s television show, denied the claim saying the characters are simply “best friends.”

The TV show at first tweeted:

“They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves. 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.”

That tweet was deleted after many criticized it for seeming anti-gay, and was replaced with a new one which said Sesame Street always stood for inclusion and acceptance.

Those that criticized the TV show said that they were “disappointed” and asked why Muppets can’t be gay.

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Others asked if the TV show producers were worried about backlash from Republicans and right-wingers.

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Frank Oz, an actor and puppeteer who played Bert, sided with “Sesame Street” on controversy but added that it shouldn’t matter.

Another said that what was important was that the characters continue to make us laugh.