Page 3 Profile: Bert and Ernie, muppets

Bert and Ernie, muppets (AP)

Today’s Page 3 Profile has been brought to you by the letters ‘B’ and ‘E’…

A Christian-run bakery in Northern Ireland is facing legal action after refusing to produce a gay-themed cake featuring Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie and the slogan “support gay marriage”.

Why not say it with flour? Daniel McArthur of Ashers Baking Company, which declined to bake the cake, said marriage in Northern Ireland “is defined as being a union between one man and one woman”.

What do the duo make of this?

The two Muppets have yet to comment on the matter. Designed by the show’s creator, Jim Henson, Bert and Ernie have starred in Sesame Street since its inception in 1969. The pair have occupied the basement flat of 123 Sesame Street for many years. They share a room and, although they sleep in separate beds, rumours regarding their sexuality have circulated for decades.

This rings a bell…

i readers might recall that in our first issue, published in October 2010, we reported that word on the (Sesame) Street was that Bert and Ernie were more than just good friends. Taking to Twitter to discuss an A-Team parody that would feature on the children’s show, Bert wrote: “Ever notice how similar my hair is to Mr T’s? The only difference is that mine is a little more ‘mo’, and a little less ‘hawk’.” Mo is slang for homosexual.

Could the first same-sex Muppet wedding be on the cards?

Sesame Workshop have in the past denied the pair are in a homosexual relationship, explaining Muppets are asexual, but that didn’t stop Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy from enjoying an amorous relationship. If they do get hitched, Ashers Baking Company probably won’t be top of their list when it comes to ordering a cake.