Tinky Winky started a still hinted-at controversy in 1999 due to his carrying a bag that looks much like a woman's handbag (although he was first "outed" by the academic and cultural critic Andy Medhurst in a letter of July 1997 to The Face). He aroused the interest of Jerry Falwell in 1999 when Falwell alleged that the character was a "gay role model". Falwell issued an attack in his National Liberty Journal, citing a Washington Post "In/Out" column which stated that homosexual comedian Ellen DeGeneres was "out" as the chief national gay representative—while trendy Tinky Winky was "in". He warned parents that Tinky Winky could be a hidden homosexual symbol, because "he is purple, the gay pride color, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle: the gay pride symbol".
The BBC, who co-produced the program, made an official response, "Tinky Winky is simply a sweet, technological baby with a magic bag." Ken Viselman of Itsy-Bitsy Entertainment, who distributed the show in the USA, commented, "He's not gay. He's not straight. He's just a character in a children's series."
In May 2007, Polish Ombudsman for Children Ewa Sowińska revisited the matter, and planned to order an investigation. She said in the 28 May 2007 edition of Wprost that the handbag-carrying Tinky Winky could promote homosexuality. Journalists from Wprost mentioned claims that the Teletubbies promote homosexuality, to which Sowińska replied that she had heard of the issue. The journalists then asked about Tinky Winky. "I noticed that he has a woman's handbag, but I didn't realize he's a boy," Sowińska told the magazine in an interview that her office approved before publication, adding, "Later I learned that there could be some hidden homosexual undertones." Sowińska said she would ask her office's psychologists to look into the allegations, "and judge whether it can be shown on public television and whether the suggested problem really exists."
But on 30 May 2007, Sowińska said in a public statement that she no longer suspected the Teletubbies of promoting homosexuality. She said: "The opinion of a leading sexologist, who maintains that this series has no negative effects on a child's psychology, is perfectly credible. As a result I have decided that it is no longer necessary to seek the opinion of other psychologists."
In an unrelated incident, reported in 2000, a girl's Tinky Winky toy reportedly said "I got a gun". Kenn Viselman claimed the toy actually said "Again, again!", a catchphrase from the show.
In another incident in 1998, a girl's talking Po doll was thought to be saying "faggot faggot, faggot faggot, faggot faggot, bite my butt!", as well as "fatty, fatty". (Supporters of the interpretation of Tinky Winky as the gay pride symbol might take this as evidence.) The toy was recalled and it was revealed to have said "fidit, fidit," inspired by the Cantonese for "faster, faster."
In other news...WHAT?!?
Beyonce's sister covers "Stillness Is The Move" and makes it the club hit everybody has hoped and wished for.
Solange - "Stillness Is The Move (Dirty Projectors Cover)"
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