For years, there have been rumors circulating the web that SpongeBob SquarePants is gay. And now, Nickelodeon fueled speculation even more when they seemingly confirmed that the character is a part of the LGBTQ+ community.

In honor of Pride Month, the network tweeted, “Celebrating #Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month,” alongside some pics of various characters from their TV shows. The tweet included snaps of transgender actor Michael Cohen, who played Schwoz Schwartz in Henry Danger, Korra from the show The Legend of Korra, who is bisexual, and SpongeBob.

Now, the network didn’t actually confirm that the sponge we all know and love is gay, since they could have just meant that he was an ally, but their post quickly went viral. And get this, you guys — “SpongeBob is gay” even started trending on social media.

Fans will recall that in one episode of the beloved show, SpongeBob and his best friend, Patrick Star, found a baby clam and decided to move in together to take care of it.

“This is when I knew SpongeBob was gay,” one fan tweeted, alongside a screengrab from that episode.

“SpongeBob gay? I mean he literally had a baby with Patrick,” another added.

“Y’all are shocked SpongeBob gay? He’s been hinting at it for years,” a third person wrote.

“I need to know who thought SpongeBob was straight because we all knew he was gay,” a fourth Twitter user said.

Back in 2005, however, the show’s creator, Stephen Hillenburg, told Reuters that he didn’t consider the characters to have any sexual preference.

“We never intended them to be gay. I consider them to be almost asexual,” he explained, when asked about the characters’ sexuality. “We’re just trying to be funny and this has nothing to do with the show.”

Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.