‘Sesame Street’ Introduces Gay Dads
The PBS series Sesame Street has introduced gay dads for an episode to recognize Pride Month. Unveiled on HBO Max last week, the “Family Day” episode includes a scene in which Nina (played by Suki Lopez) introduces her brother Dave (Chris Costa) and his husband, Frank (Alex Weisman), to Elmo and his friends. Joining the couple is their daughter, Mia (Olivia Perez).
The introduction came this past Father’s Day weekend and featured the same-sex couple in an episode titled, “Family Day.”
On the episode titled “Family Day,” we meet the husbands – played by Chris Costa and Alex Weisman – and their daughter, played by Olivia Perez.
News about the episode drew many props from several LGBTQ+ groups.
From HuffingtonPost.com:
Over the years, queer stars like Ellen DeGeneres, Billy Eichner and, most recently, Lil Nas X have all made guest appearances on the show. In early 2020, actor and gender-fluid fashion icon Billy Porter turned up in an episode in wearing the Christian Siriano-designed velvet tuxedo gown he’d debuted on the 2019 Academy Awards red carpet.
And earlier this year, the show debuted a digital segment featuring two new Black muppets for a discussion about race.
In 2018, however, former writer Mark Saltzman sparked controversy when he suggested his storylines for Bert and Ernie had been informed by his real-life relationship and, as such, came to view the characters as “a loving couple.”
Later, the Emmy winner told The New York Times his comments had been misinterpreted, and clarified that he saw Bert and Ernie simply as “two guys who love each other.”
Susan Saunders 6/22/21
