FILE - In this May 9, 2006, file photo, Ernie and Bert of “Sesame Street” pose in front of the Queen Mary II in the harbor of Hamburg, Germany. The producers of “Sesame Street” tweeted Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018, that Bert and Ernie are not gay in response to a Queerty interview published Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, with a former writer for the show who said he considered the puppets lovers. (AP Photo/Fabian Bimmer, File)

NEW YORK | The producers of “Sesame Street” want you to know that Bert and Ernie are not, in fact, gay.

FILE – In this May 9, 2006, file photo, Ernie and Bert of “Sesame Street” pose in front of the Queen Mary II in the harbor of Hamburg, Germany. The producers of “Sesame Street” tweeted Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018, that Bert and Ernie are not gay in response to a Queerty interview published Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, with a former writer for the show who said he considered the puppets lovers. (AP Photo/Fabian Bimmer, File)
FILE – In this May 9, 2006, file photo, Ernie and Bert of “Sesame Street” pose in front of the Queen Mary II in the harbor of Hamburg, Germany. The producers of “Sesame Street” tweeted Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018, that Bert and Ernie are not gay in response to a Queerty interview published Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, with a former writer for the show who said he considered the puppets lovers. (AP Photo/Fabian Bimmer, File)

Sesame Workshop tweeted Tuesday that the characters are best friends and have many human traits but “remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation.” In a follow-up tweet, it says “Sesame Street has always stood for inclusion and acceptance .”

The tweets came in response to an interview published Sunday by Queerty with Mark Saltzman, an openly gay former writer for “Sesame Street.” He says that when he was writing scenes with Bert and Ernie, he “always felt that without a huge agenda” they were lovers .