No Sesame Street gay wedding for Bert and Ernie

LOS ANGELES - Bert and Ernie may be best friends, but that doesn't mean the Sesame Street pals are gay. Whether the puppets may or may not be, one thing is certain, they won't be getting married, producers of the long-running kids TV show made clear on Thursday.

The educational workshop behind the 40 year-old TV series dismissed the idea of a made-for-TV, same-sex puppet wedding in response to an online campaign and petition to have the two Sesame Street characters get married as a way to beat homophobia and encourage tolerance of gay people.

In recent days, almost 9,000 people have signed a petition encouraging the wedding, sparking a lively debate on social media.