The voice of Spongebob Squarepants Tom Kenny is weighing in on what he thinks is his“superpower.”
At the 2024 Motor City Comic Con in Detroit, the famed voice actor explained that SpongeBob is autistic. During a Q+A session, a video posted to ToonHive's X account captured Kenny as he recalled the time he first revealed his character’s neurodivergence.
“SpongeBob's kind of on the spectrum too as a character,” he said. "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?’”
He recalled answering, “‘Of course!’” Then, he continued, “I said, ‘You know what? That's his superpower, the same way that’s your superpower.’”
The crowd cheered as Kenny offered this explanation, gathering support for his answer.
Kenny has previously spoken about SpongeBob having Autism, saying on Marc Maron's WTF podcast in October 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."
Photo: bamby-bhamby / iStock Unreleased / Getty Images