Tom Kenny, the actor who voices SpongeBob SquarePants, revealed that the animated character is autistic.
Kenny, 62, recently spoke at the 2024 Motor City Comic Con in Detroit and told fans about a past time he confirmed SpongeBob’s diagnosis.
“SpongeBob’s kind of on the spectrum too as a character,” he said in a video from ToonHive’s X account shared Tuesday.
“This last con that I did in McAllen, Texas – it was the first time I’d ever been asked this question,” Kenny continued. “A person who was obviously on the spectrum came up to me and said, ‘I have a question for you, Tom Kenny. Is SpongeBob himself autistic?’ “
“I said, ‘Yes of course. Of course he is,’ ” the comedian recalled. “I said, ‘You know what? That’s his superpower, the same way that’s your superpower.’ “
Kenny has been voicing SpongeBob on the beloved cartoon show since it premiered in 1999.
He’s won two Daytime Emmy Awards and Annie Awards for his work on the series.
The first time Kenny spoke about his character being neurodivergent was back in 2012 on the “WTF with Marc Maron” podcast.
“I don’t know what there is in that show that talks to kids that are on the autism spectrum, but more than other cartoons… because SpongeBob as a character is a little autistic,” Kenny said at the time.
“Obsessed with his job, very hardworking, gets really, really deep into something.”
In 2019, Kenny said that’s always felt similar to the cartoon sponge.
“I felt like I just got [SpongeBob],” he told Entertainment Weekly. “You go, ‘Oh, I know this guy. I can embody this guy.’ I feel like there’s some shared DNA between me and this character.”
He went on, “We’ve all felt that way. That’s part of Steve’s brilliance. He seemed to be pretty sure of his decisions once he made them, and couldn’t be dissuaded.”
“SpongeBob SquarePants” was created by the late Stephen Hillenburg, who died of ALS at age 57 in Nov. 2018.
Earlier that year, Kenny spoke about Hillenburg’s accomplishments as the TV producer was honored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) at the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
“Sometime in 1997ish, Stephen Hillenburg showed me some drawings he had done for a show that he was thinking about pitching to Nickelodeon about a good-hearted sponge, his dumb sea star friend, a greedy crab boss, a cranky squid neighbor, a teeny tiny enemy and a Texas squirrel that’s gone subaquatic,” Kenny said in his speech.
“I know, seen it before, right? I fell in love immediately and it seems like some other people did too,” he added.
“Spongebob’s vocal cords might be mine, but Spongebob’s playful spirit of gentle energy, his humor and the joy he takes in his vibrant, colorful, music-filled world come directly 100 percent from my good buddy, Mr. Stephen Hillenburg,” Kenny said.
“SpongeBob SquarePants” is in its 14th season on Nickelodeon. It was renewed for Season 15 last year.
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