And while the 62-year-old’s comments on the matter have now gone viral, it’s not the first time he’s approached the subject.
“I don’t know what there is in that show that talks to kids that are on the autism spectrum,” he said on Marc Maron‘s WTF podcast in 2012, via The Independent, “but more than other cartoons—because SpongeBob as a character is a little autistic. Obsessed with his job, very hardworking, gets really really deep into something.”
And 25 years after the show premiered on Nickelodeon, fans are still learning new information about their favorite Krusty Krab line cook, including that he’s a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2020, the network shared a post in honor of Pride Month and included a photo of SpongeBob alongside transgender actor Michael Cohen, who played Schwoz Schwartz in Henry Danger, and Korra from The Legend of Korra, who is bisexual, writing, “Celebrating #Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month.”