'My Little Pony' debuts first lesbian characters just in time for Pride month: 'They are a cute couple'
'My Little Pony' is gearing up for Pride month in the best way possible.
According to reports, the kids' show is going to feature a same-sex couple for the first time when it airs in the US this Saturday, June 15, just in time for Pride Month, which celebrates the impact LGBTQ+ people have had in the world.
Episode 12 of 'My Little Pony' Season 9 titled 'Friendship Is Magic' will see Aunt Holiday (Jackie Blackmore) and Auntie Lofty (Saffron Henderson) become the official guardians of Scootaloo (Madeleine Peters) in absence of the character's parents who are often away for work.
Confirming that the aunts aren't exactly "sisters", Aunt Holiday nudges her partner at one point and snaps back: "Lofty! Don't tease my brother."
Writer-and-producer Michael Vogel who is a former vice president of development for Hasbro, the company behind the original 'My Little Pony', celebrated the moment in a Monday tweet.
"Hey hey!!! @NicoleDubuc , @joshhaber and I doing what we can to bring more EQuality to EQuestria!! #PrideMonth," Vogel posted on Twitter, mentioning the showrunners.
He had reportedly confirmed the characters' relationship last October after questions flowed in following his declaration that they were a "cute couple".
At the time, however, he didn't explicitly refer to them as a romantic couple. He responded to a follower who asked whether the two characters were lesbians in the book: "Well they aren't sisters so...." After further probing, he added: "When I say 'cute couple' I'm saying that Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty are a cute couple. Yes."
According to Buzzfeed News, people behind the reboot had to first get the tale told in the book. "Nicole (Showrunner Nicole Dubuc) and I thought this was a great opportunity to organically introduce an LGBTQ couple in the series, and we asked Hasbro and they approved it," Vogel told the outlet.
He added, "Diversity and representation are important for kids for so many reasons, and it's my first priority on everything I work on. 'My Little Pony' has always been about friendship and accepting people (or ponies) that are different from you. So it just felt like something important to do."
Vogel, who is gay himself, said that it's great to offer young people something he didn't get when he was a child. "As someone who grew up watching every animated show there was, I like that LGBTQ kids growing up today can see themselves reflected in the shows they are watching," he commented.