‘Arthur’ Character Mr. Ratburn Comes Out as Gay and Gets Married

Twenty-two seasons in, beloved PBS animated series Arthur premiered Monday, May 14, to much hullabaloo after writers developed a new plot twist for one of its characters. Arthur’s third grade teacher Mr. Ratburn came out as gay on the season 22 premiere, and got married.

The episode was entitled “Mr. Ratburn & the Special Someone.” The episode showed much speculation amongst the students, who presumed Mr. Ratburn was marrying Patty. (She ended up being his sister.) On the day of the nuptials, Mr. Ratburn’s students Arthur, Francine, Muffy, Buster (remember all of these names?) discovered that their third grade teacher was marrying another aardvark… who showed up wearing a suit.

PBS

PBS

“It’s a brand new world!” one of Mr. Ratburn’s students exclaimed.

While PBS has yet to speak out about the nuptials, Twitter immediately reacted to the story. See the reactions below.

Secure your ideal wedding vision by starting with The Knot’s Style Quiz, here.

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