Tom Kenny reflects on saying SpongeBob SquarePants is autistic: 'I never meant for it to go public'

"It was just kind of this private moment that I had with a fan," Kenny tells EW.

The voice actor behind SpongeBob SquarePants "never meant" to go public with his recent revelation about the iconic character being autistic after his comments went viral.

Tom Kenny stopped by Entertainment Weekly's 2024 Comic-Con video suite on Friday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the TV series along with the rest of the cast of SpongeBob SquarePants, and he reflected on how his quotes took off more than he expected a few days earlier.

Related: SpongeBob SquarePants voice actor says the character is 'autistic' and 'that’s his superpower'

"I'm not a medical doctor and SpongeBob is imaginary, an imaginary character, so I'm not really qualified to speak," Kenny told EW. "But yeah, a young person with autism who is on the spectrum said to me — basically he was asking me, 'I'm like this, is SpongeBob like me?' And I said, 'Yeah, he is. SpongeBob's a lot like you. You guys are the same and you're both awesome.'"

Kenny, who has voiced the title character since the animated show first began airing in 1999, added, "That was a nice moment and I never meant for it to go public or anything. It was just kind of this private moment that I had with a fan but it seems like it's been empowering and helpful to people out there."

Watch Kenny's interview in the video above.

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Related: 'Why am I saying 'Who's ready?' three times?': An oral history of SpongeBob SquarePants

On Wednesday, a fan-captured video from the 2024 Motor City Comic Con in Detroit went viral after Kenny opened up about the first time he spoke about SpongeBob's neurodivergence with a fan.

"SpongeBob's kind of on the spectrum too as a character," he told the cheering crowd. "It was the first time I'd ever been asked this question — a person who was obviously on the spectrum came up to me and said, 'I have a question for you, Tom Kenny. Is SpongeBob autistic? Is SpongeBob himself autistic as a character?'"

He recalled telling the fan, "'Of course!' I said, 'You know what? That's his superpower, the same way that's your superpower.'"

That wasn't the first time Kenny spoke publicly about his thoughts on the character's neurodivergence. He previously said on Marc Maron's WTF podcast in 2012, "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. Obsessed with his job, very hardworking, gets really, really deep into something."

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.