Well, the cat’s out of the bag!
It’s officially been confirmed that everyone’s favorite sweatshirt-wearing, ’90s-touting, jogging feminist mom from Rugrats, Betty DeVille, will be an out gay single mom in Paramount+’s CGI-animated revival, which premieres on Thursday.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=w9qvm5H5Zto%3Frel%3D0
Though Betty was clearly the dominant one in the relationship with her husband Howard, her sexuality was often left to innuendo in the original Nickelodeon series.
However, from the moment she jogged on screen with her iconic headband, a sweater emblazoned with the "female" symbol and her friendly slaps on the back that were typically followed up with, “How about a cup of hot java?” viewers’ gaydar just wouldn’t quit.
In a statement to the press, Natalie Morales, who will be voicing Betty in the reboot, confirmed that the character will be unapologetically gay. For the out queer actress, the move was personal.
“I think any representation for the community is important,” Morales said in a statement, originally published by A.V. Club. “Betty is a single mom with her own business who has twins and still has time to hang out with her friends and her community, and I think it's just so great because examples of living your life happily and healthily as an out queer person is just such a beacon for young queer people who may not have examples of that. And yeah, Betty is a fictional cartoon, but even cartoons were hugely influential for me as a kid and if I’d been watching Rugrats and seen Betty casually talking about her ex-girlfriend, I think at least a part of me would have felt like things might be okay in the future.”
In the new series, Betty owns the cafe Betty’s Beans (we all know she loved her coffee) and vocally cracks jokes about her exes (in true lesbian fashion). Her sweatshirt has also been replaced with a Gemini sign instead of her typical female symbol or peace sign she used to wear proudly.
“I was really excited,” Morales, who previously starred in The Middleman, Parks and Recreation, and Dead to Me continues. “Although I think anyone who watched the original show may have had an inkling Betty was a member of the alphabet mafia," she says, referring to the "LGBTQ" acronym.
“I was such a big, big fan of Nickelodeon when I was a kid. Rugrats, Doug, Ah! Real Monsters, Hey, Arnold, etc. Like, I watched all of it and Rugrats was a big one," she said. "Walking into Nickelodeon studios and auditioning for this role was such a big deal to me that I framed the ID sticker they gave me at the gate. Getting the part was incredibly joyous and I pinch myself every time I get to do it.”
For those who need a refresher course, Betty was married to Howard in the hit 1990s series, which was one of the most popular shows on Nickelodeon at its height. Its popularity led to subsequent films and successful video games.
Betty and Howard’s infant fraternal twins, Phil and Lil, were best friends with their neighbors’ children: Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica (Tommy’s cousin), Susie, Kimi, and later Tommy’s newborn brother Dil. While the show centered around the adventures of the babies, adult characters like Betty and the other parents were often the anchor of storylines that led the babies on their quests.
Still, while Betty’s outing might be a "well, duh" for millennial fans, her coming out news has been met with mixed reviews on social media:
TY to Paramount for saving me cash by giving me a reason to not watch Rugrats. A children's cartoon felt the need to not assume gender and make a character a lesbian. https://t.co/H1bUoxihTs
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) May 27, 2021
This Rugrats reboot is progressive. I always knew Betty was a lesbian.
— JoJo (@beautifuljaebee) May 27, 2021
I’m here for Betty being a feminist #Rugratspic.twitter.com/2TOJaX1gRb
— Allison the disney Diva is fully vaccinated (@Daviesallison1A) May 27, 2021
Rugrats reboot will have Betty be an openly lesbian woman. F**K you woke culture. Stop messing with kids shows, specially those from the 90’s.
— Victor Rivas (@ZEO5520) May 27, 2021
Rugrats 2021 tries to be woke and fails hard.
– Susie has been de-aged and dumbed down so only Angelica can communicate with adults
– Susie's parents have been redesigned to look like the most generic black people ever
– Betty is a lesbian now, because a butch woman must be gay
— Brad Lee (@MadLadBradLee) May 23, 2021
Betty DeVille is a lesbian confirmed, Rugrats really said gay rights ???? #Rugrats#BettyDeVille
— ????? (@ciogloriana) May 27, 2021
Welp….I won't be watching the new #Rugrats show. The changes they made to aren't "progressive or inclusive". You killed off Betty's husband to make get the token lesbian character to do… What? Bring in the LGBTQ crowd?
Forced diversity helps no one.
— DaGOAT78 (@DaGOAT_78) May 27, 2021
I mean come on. I was four or five when Rugrats first came out, and the coding was so loud and clear that even I understood what Betty’s deal was. pic.twitter.com/PhwSePho1F
— Chris Muise (@TheSilentG) May 27, 2021
Watching Rugrats as a mom hits different. All these parents need their eyes checked, none of them seem to have any semblance of peripheral vision. Betty DeVille is still it, though. pic.twitter.com/caPANNtqPS
— Side Show Taryn (@heartsfromhell) May 12, 2021
#Rugrats Honestly, I think we all had like the smallest hints that Betty was a lesbian even in the original series. And like just the dynamic of it when she was married to Howard was just very visible to say the least. Hopefully she meets someone in the new series.
— Aallyhia Thee Stallion ? | ✊ (@MsAallyhia) May 27, 2021
Listen we all know the Betty from Rugrats obviously wasn't straight but them writing out her husband for the new show is to make her gay is… really odd to me… ?
— cathy? (@samportrbridges) May 27, 2021
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