Jonathan Bailey dances with Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street amid LGBTQ+ cultural moment

When Jonathan Bailey sat down on a sunlit Sesame Street bench with Elmo last Tuesday, he didn’t just chat about leaves and hot chocolate—he whispered something quieter, and far more powerful: "Give yourself a moment. A moment for whatever you need." It was a line meant for children, but it landed like a lifeline for millions who’ve spent decades seeing themselves reflected in the quiet, unspoken bond between two Muppets who live together in a basement at 123 Sesame Street.

The Quiet Power of a Park Bench Moment

Bailey, the Olivier Award-winning actor named PEOPLE’s 2025 Sexiest Man Alive, didn’t come to Sesame Street to promote his new film. Not exactly. He came because Bert and Ernie mattered. And so did the children watching, many of whom are just beginning to understand what love looks like when it doesn’t fit the script. His conversation with Elmo was gentle, almost meditative. He spoke of silence as sanctuary, of gratitude as practice. No grand speeches. No performative allyship. Just a man, in his early 30s, telling a red furry monster—and the millions behind the screen—that it’s okay to pause. That it’s okay to be tired. That joy doesn’t always need a soundtrack.

Dancing Through Life: A Nod to Queer Coding

The second segment was different. Upbeat. Joyful. Chaotic. Bailey, in a navy blazer and sneakers, spun with Bert and Ernie as they wobbled through a dance routine to a jazz-inflected tune. Then came the line: "We’re dancing through life, Bert." It wasn’t written in the script. It was a gift from Bailey’s own performance as Fiyero in Wicked: For Good, the cinematic finale to Jon M. Chu’s two-part adaptation of the Broadway hit, set to open November 21, 2025. The line echoes Fiyero’s anthem from For Good—a song about transformation, loyalty, and love that defies expectation. And in that moment, the audience knew: this wasn’t just a cameo. It was a declaration.

Who Are Bert and Ernie, Really?

The cultural weight of this scene didn’t come from nowhere. Since the 1970s, Bert and Ernie have been quietly, defiantly queer-coded. Their shared apartment. Their routines. Their unspoken intimacy. In 2018, former Sesame Street writer Mark Saltzman told Queerty he based them on his own relationship with film editor Arnold Glassman. "They were my love story," he said. The network never confirmed it. But they never denied it either.

In 2011, when a petition demanded they marry, Sesame Workshop issued a now-famous response: "They remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation." It was a legal dodge, yes—but also a cultural surrender. Because everyone knew. Especially in Northern Ireland, where in 2014, a baker’s refusal to make a cake featuring Bert and Ernie for a same-sex wedding sparked international outrage. The cake wasn’t about fondant. It was about belonging.

Even Snuffalupagus—the giant, invisible friend—got a nod from Saltzman as "a depressed person nobody can see… sort of gay closeted too." The Muppets have always been mirrors. For kids. For outsiders. For those who learned to love quietly.

Why This Matters Now

Bailey’s appearance lands at a volatile moment. Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is surging in the U.S. and parts of Europe. Book bans target stories of queer families. Yet here’s a mainstream children’s show, through the lens of one of Britain’s most beloved actors, letting two Muppets hold hands—literally—on national television. No fanfare. No press release. Just dance.

And Bailey? He’s not just an actor. He’s a steward. He’s starred in Bridgerton as a man who loved openly. In Fellow Travelers, he played a closeted diplomat in 1950s Washington, where love meant silence. Now, he’s using his platform to spotlight The Shameless Fund, his LGBTQ+ youth charity, while teasing he won’t be off-screen long. "I don’t expect to be away from the screen for too long," he told The Pink News. That’s the quiet activism of our time: not protest signs, but hot chocolate on a bench. Not speeches, but a line from a musical that means everything to someone.

What Comes Next

The world will see Bailey again on November 21, 2025, as Fiyero in Wicked: For Good, opposite Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and Jeff Goldblum. But the real sequel? The one that matters more—is what happens after the credits roll. Will more children see themselves in Bert and Ernie? Will more parents feel safe explaining that love doesn’t need a label? Will the next generation grow up thinking it’s normal for two men to share a bed, a spoon, and a song?

The answer might be written in the laughter of a child watching Bailey dance with two felt creatures. In that moment, the message wasn’t spoken. It was felt.