Are Bert and Ernie still on Sesame Street?

1. Current status on Sesame Workshop’s site: the company lists them as active

Sesame Workshop’s official character pages present Ernie and Bert as living on 123 Sesame Street and participating in recent platform content — Ernie’s page (updated December 18, 2024) and Bert’s page (November 29, 2023) both describe them as current Sesame Street characters and reference appearances like the 50th Anniversary Special ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Continued televised presence: recurring segments and clips

Bert and Ernie have been used in recurring segments and inserts over many seasons. Notably, the claymation shorts Bert and Ernie’s Great Adventures aired as Sesame Street inserts beginning with season 39 and were distributed internationally, demonstrating that the characters are reused in new content across seasons ^[3].

3. Historical continuity: core duo since the show began

Both characters are foundational to Sesame Street — Ernie has been a star since the first episode in 1969 and Bert and Ernie have been presented as roommates and a comic duo across decades of programming, specials and films ^{[4] [5]}. That institutional longevity reinforces the point that the Workshop regards them as perennial cast members ^{[1] [2]}.

4. Public controversies and clarifications don’t equate to removal

There has been public debate about whether Bert and Ernie are a couple; a former writer said they were modeled on his relationship, but Sesame Workshop explicitly rebutted that the puppets have sexual orientations and stated they were created as best friends to teach children about friendship ^{[6] [7]}. Those disputes are about portrayal and interpretation, not about whether the characters remain on the show; available sources do not report an official removal or retirement tied to that controversy ^{[6] [7]}.

5. Fan and archival sources reflect appearances but are secondary

Fandom and Wikipedia pages compile appearances, cameos and episode histories — for example, Muppet Wiki and Wikipedia document many segments, cameos and the claymation series — but these are secondary sources summarizing broadcast history rather than official company inventory ^{[8] [5] [3]}. They corroborate that Bert and Ernie have continued to appear across formats over time ^{[5] [3]}.

6. What the available reporting does not say

Available sources do not mention any official, current decision by Sesame Workshop to permanently retire or remove Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street programming; instead the Workshop’s own pages present them as ongoing characters and list recent appearances ^{[1] [2]}. If you are asking about a specific recent season, episode, or regional broadcast pull, those details are not covered in the provided reporting and would need episode-level schedules or a new statement from Sesame Workshop (not found in current reporting).

7. How to verify appearances going forward

To confirm if Bert and Ernie appear in a specific new episode, check Sesame Workshop’s site character pages and the show's episode guides or streaming listings; Sesame Workshop’s own pages and official Sesame Street program guides are the authoritative sources cited here ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

Conclusion: Official Sesame Workshop materials and program history show Bert and Ernie remain part of Sesame Street and continue to appear in segments and specials; controversies about their relationship were publicly addressed by the Workshop but do not, according to the provided sources, indicate that the characters have been removed ^{[1] [2] [6]}.