Spongebob voice actor Tom Kenny confirms character is autistic

IN HIS RECENT appearance at the Motor City Comic Con in Michigan, the voice actor for Spongebob Squarepants, Tom Kenny, confirmed that the character is autistic.

He shared that, during a con he did in Texas, a person who was on the spectrum came up to him and asked if Spongebob was autistic.

“Yes, of course! Of course, he is,” Kenny replied to the person, adding that it was Spongebob’s superpower the way it was theirs.

In a 2017 interview with Bleeding Cool, wherein Kenny discussed why Spongebob appeals to children with autism, he felt that they may like the character because he doesn’t have a filter and does whatever he wants.

“I know autistic kids fixate on certain things and certain shows, but there’s something about ‘Spongebob’ – and it’s not just that ‘Spongebob’ is bigger than other shows,” he’d said.

Rodger Bumbpass, the voice of Squidward on the show, also attributed it to the simplicity of the show.

Kenny also said the same back in 2012 on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast, noting that Spongebob was a little autistic given that he was obsessed with his job, is very hardworking, and often gets really, really deep into things he likes.

Kenny’s statement has since garnered positive reactions online, with many people on the spectrum saying that they now understand why they’ve always related to Spongebob so much.

According to USA Today, Kenny has been voicing Spongebob since it first aired in 1999.

He is a renowned voice actor who has starred in several hit TV shows. You may know him as Ice King from “Adventure Time,” Heffer from “Rocko’s Modern Life,” and the Mayor and Narrator in “Powerpuff Girls.”

Why representation matters

Over the years, many films and television shows have tried their best to include autistic characters as a means of diversity and representation.

There are times, however, when such characters are by no means an accurate representation of people who have autism.

One such example is the 2021 film “Music,” directed by singer Sia. Many were disappointed in this film as the main character Music (Maddie Ziegler) acts in an extremely exaggerated way, perpetuating harmful stereotypes about the autism community.

A review on IMDb said that, as someone who deals with mental illness and its social struggles, they felt that the film made a complete joke of autism, adding that it should be “burned at the stake.”

There are other examples people have cited that make a mockery out of autism. It’s more common to have a film about a character “struggling” with autism than to have one about a character who just happens to have it.

So, to have a character that autistic people have resonated with for so long to actually be confirmed as autistic, and for the show to just be about him living his everyday life without everyone focusing on his disability, is a heartwarming feeling – one accompanied by a sense of reassurance.

There are many ways to do representation the right way. For people to react positively to the news about Spongebob, it’s obvious that there’s something the creators and characters behind the show are doing well.