‘Spongebob Squarepants’ Is ‘Autistic,’ Voice Actor Tom Kenny Reveals

Tom Kenny explained that he believes that the titular character from Spongebob Squarepants is on the autism spectrum during a recent appearance for a panel discussion at Motor City Comic Con in Detroit. The clip of Tom, 62, discussing Spongebob was shared by the ToonHive account on X (formerly Twitter). “Spongebob’s kind of on the spectrum too as a character,” Tom said at the start of the clip.

Tom revealed that he thought about it when a fan had asked him whether Spongebob was on the spectrum, and he admitted that he felt that was part of what made the character so great. After the voice shared the story, the audience erupted in applause. “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, ‘And I have a question for you, Tom Kenny. Is Spongebob autistic? Is Spongebob himself autistic as a character?'” he recalled. “I said, ‘Yes, of course! Of course he is!’ I said, ‘You know what? That’s his superpower! The same way it’s your superpower.'”

This isn’t the first time that Tom has spoken about the way that Spongebob resonates with children on the autism spectrum. He had first opened up about the character being autistic in a 2012 interview with Marc Maron on his WTF podcast. “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,” he said, via People. “SpongeBob as a character is a little autistic. Obsessed with his job, very hardworking, gets really, really deep into something.”

Tom has been the voice actor for Spongebob for 25 years. He made his debut as the character when it premiered in 1999, but he’s lent his talent to many other beloved cartoons over the years, including The Powerpuff Girls, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Adventure Time. He’s done some live action work too on series like Mr. Show. He’s also appeared in person on Spongebob as Patchy the Pirate.