Teletubbies gay
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Should children under the age of two even be watching television? “He’s become as gay icon…[and] the same fundamentalists that boycott Disney are going to flip when they see him.”
By the 1990s, Reverend Jerry Falwell was running out of people to pick on. The show’s creators have consistently maintained that Teletubbies was designed to be inclusive and appealing to all children regardless of their background.
Cultural Impact
Regardless of the intended meaning behind the characters, the speculation about their sexual orientation has become an integral part of popular culture:
- Fan art and fan fiction often explore these interpretations
- Social media discussions frequently revolve around the topic
- Some LGBTQ+ advocates have embraced the rainbow flag theory as a positive representation of diversity
Controversy and Criticism
While some fans embrace these interpretations, others have criticized what they perceive as promoting LGBTQ+ themes in children’s programming:
- Concerns about exposing young children to potentially controversial topics
- Accusations of hidden messages or subliminal content in the show
It’s worth noting that many of these criticisms stem from misunderstandings or misinterpretations of the show’s content.
Fact-Checking the Conspiracy Theory
One conspiracy theory claims that Teletubbies was inspired by tragic events at a Bulgarian mental facility where four children reportedly died.
This theory suggests that each character was based on a different child who died there. To get occasional notifications when we write blog posts, please sign up for our email list.
The Guy Who Played Tinky Winky, the ‘Gay’ Purple Teletubby, Has Died
Four days ago, Simon Barnes, the 52-year-old actor best known for playing Tinky Winky, the purple creature in the BBC preschool children’s series Teletubbies, passed away, giving us pause to remember Winky’s legacy as the “the gay Teletubby.”
In a 1999 article by homophobic televangelist Jerry Falwell published in his magazine National Liberty Journal, Falwell declared that Tinky Winky was gay.
“The character, whose voice is obviously that of a boy, has been found carrying a red purse,” Falwell wrote.
The “outing of Tinky Winky” would become, in the words of the show’s producers, the second biggest news story after “Monica Lewinsky and her blue dress.”
This is the true story of how Tinky Winky, the purple Teletubby, incited a decade-long homophobic panic.
The Rise and Fall of Tinky Winky
Dave Thompson, the original Tinky Winky actor, on the Teletubbies set (1996)
When a casting call for Teletubbies went out in the Spring of 1996, more than 600 actors auditioned for the role of Tinky Winky.
Even the program’s theme song, “Teletubbies say ‘Eh-Oh,’” saw explosive dividends — it sold over a million copies and topped the UK Singles Chart for 32 weeks. However, this straightforward premise belies the complexity and controversy surrounding the series.
The Teletubby Characters
Let’s examine the main characters:
- Tinky Winky (Purple)
- Dipsy (Green)
- Laa-Laa (Yellow)
- Po (Red)
Each character has distinct characteristics, including their color-coded outfits and unique personalities.
“The bag…and other props the fictional characters use are there to create a fictional world that speaks to children.” Concerned that the politician was “turning the department into a laughing stock,” Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski ordered her termination from office just months later.
Poland wasn’t the only country to reignite a stir over Tinky Winky: In Kazakhstan, the character — and the show in its entirety — was banned by personal order of the president on the grounds that “he was a sexual pervert.”
A Burden to Carry
Looking back, Dave Thompson isn’t exactly sure why the purple character’s sexuality was ever in question.
People spotted my little wink to my culture and I’m proud of that."
John never hid from the truth of how hard and sweaty it was to work in the big suit they had to wear. "The stand-up circuit is pretty close-knit so people got to know that I was Dipsy - but I never mentioned it on stage,” he previously said.
Laa Laa
The third Teletubby is Laa Laa with the curly antenna, the sweetest and most supportive of the gang, and was played by trained dancer Nikky Smedley.
He also penned a book, “The Sex Life of a Comedian,” which tells a familiar story: A Stand-up comic gets a job wearing a furry costume on a kids’ television show and then gets fired.
Tubbygate: How Tinky Winky Incited a Homophobic Panic
On March 31, 1997, Teletubbies made it’s public debut on England’s BBC Television.
Explaining how he influenced the character, John explained: "Dipsy would say, ‘Papa Come Papa Come To Po’, which was actually my take on a classic reggae rhythm track called The Whip.
"And I’d slip in Jamaican dance moves, a Bogle there and a Tatty here. “It was very, very hot in the costume,” Thompson says.
There’s none to suggest that it facilitates motor development in 12-month-olds. “We haven’t spoken to Tinky Winky directly, and so we don’t presume to know what his orientation may be,” a spokeswoman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force told the Chicago Tribune. Softly-spoken Po could be seen blowing bubbles using her circular-shaped antenna and hurting around Tubbyland on her scooter.
Actress and presenter Pui Fan Lee took on the role shortly after leaving drama school - and in one incredible picture was seen lying down fast asleep with the body of her Po costume still on.
After the show ended, Pui raised a few eyebrows by taking part in lesbian sex scenes during Channel 4 show Metrosexuality.
“They are fictional characters, they have nothing to do with reality,” she ceded days later. “We were hardly sexual beings.” When the 49-year-old was first exposed to the show, she thought it was a work a genius; she appreciated that it “came from a place of love,” and that it strived to wholesomely engage young children. I took all the risks," Dave said regarding his departure.
I was always the one to test out the limitations of the costume.