"Happy #pridemonth to Mr. Simmons!," Craig posted on Instagram, adding "We introduced him in season 2 when we realized that Ms. Slovak was too one-note, a teacher who just didn’t care, and the Simpsons had already covered that. So we thought, how about a teacher who REALLY cares, almost too much? And Simmons was born."
This isn't the first time Bartlett has talked openly about Mr. Simmons (voiced by Dan Butler from Frasier) and his sexuality. To celebrate Pride in 2018, the animator told fans: “We figured Mr. Simmons was a gay character without having to make a big deal of it or have it be a special episode or anything like that...The main thing about him is that he’s a great teacher and really passionate. And Slovak left teaching to become a professional golfer.”
Additionally, during press promotion for 2017's Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, Bartlett confirmed a long-standing fan theory that Mr. Simmons is a part of the LGBTQ community after viewers were introduced to a friend of his named Peter in the show's Thanksgiving special:
"A lot of the audience assumed he was gay," Bartlett said. "Well, guess what? Peter IS Mr. Simmons' partner."
In fact, Mr. Simmons may not only be the only gay character in Hey Arnold! Bartlett has also hinted that Arnold's friend, Eugene Horowitz, was also gay.
Although it's been slow, representation of the LGBTQ community is thankfully becoming more prevalent.
In 2016, Nickelodeon made network history with their first-ever portrayal of a openly same-sex male couple on their animated series The Loud House. The show has also revealed that Lincoln's sister, Luna, and her crush, Sam, are bi-sexual. The series' positive portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters has earned it two GLAAD Media Awards nominations.
The network also featured a younger unmarried female same-sex couple in the 2014 conclusion of its hit animated action series The Legend of Korra, which ended with Korra and Asami, two of the shows female characters, embarking on a romantic relationship, with fans endearingly calling the couple 'Korrasami'. Korra and Asami's relationship continues in comic book sequels to the series, including the upcoming Ruins of the Empire.
Most recently, Nickelodeon's revived Double Dare featured it's first family with two dads. A major milestone.
In addition to Nick, PBS also recently made history when Arthur revealed that Mr. Ratburn is gay, and was marrying his partner! The episode culminated in a same-sex wedding of the two.
These representations are big deal considering that Nickelodeon has millions of viewers around the world, and the network's TV shows and movies featuring LGBTQ+ characters is an important step forward for mainstream visibility and acceptance of same-sex couples among younger viewers.
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Original source: Pride.
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