SpongeBob SquarePants star Tom Kenny is addressing a recent viral clip where he says the character is autistic.
Kenny, of course, has been the voice of the iconic animated character who lives in a pineapple under the sea since the series debuted on Nickelodeon in 1999.
The prolific voice actor—who, per IMDb, has amassed nearly 600 credits in the past 35 years—was featured in a viral video user Toon Hive shared on X on July 23. Speaking during a panel during at the Motor City Comic Con in Detroit, Kenny recalled a unique question a fan with autism had about about SpongeBob.
“It was the first time I’d ever been asked this question—a person who was obviously on the spectrum came up to me and said, ‘I have a question for you, Tom Kenny. Is SpongeBob autistic? Is SpongeBob himself autistic as a character?'” Kenny recalled in the video clip. “And I said, ‘Yes, of course. Of course, he is!’ I said, ‘You know what? That’s his superpower, the same way it’s your superpower.'”
Discussing the clip in an interview with Entertainment Weekly at the San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend, added a bit more context to his viral remarks.
“I’m not a medical doctor and SpongeBob is imaginary, an imaginary character, so I’m not really qualified to speak,” Kenny explained. “But yeah, a young person with autism who is on the spectrum said to me—basically he was asking me, ‘I’m like this, is SpongeBob like me?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, he is. SpongeBob’s a lot like you. You guys are the same and you’re both awesome.'”
Kenny Never Intended For The Remark To Go Public
During Tom Kenny’s interview with EW—where he and the his fellow SpongeBob SquarePants stars discussed the 25th anniversary of the series—said he’s glad the clip inspired people although it was never his intention.
“That was a nice moment and I never meant for it to go public or anything,” Kenny told EW. “It was just kind of this private moment that I had with a fan but it seems like it’s been empowering and helpful to people out there.”
SpongeBob SquarePants debuted on Nickelodeon on May 1, 1999, and 312 episodes have aired to date.
In addition to Kenny, SpongeBob SquarePants also stars the voices of Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy Cheeks), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), Mr. Lawrence (Plankton), Dee Bradley Baker (Bubble Bass) and Jill Talley (Karen).
Kenny and his fellow cast members have also voiced the characters in four SpongeBob SquarePants movies with a fifth feature film on the way in 2025.
In addition, the cast members are voicing their characters for the upcoming SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff movie Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, which debuts on Netflix on Friday.
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