Outrage factor: 4 Krabby Patties SpongeBob will turn your kids gay! Gay panic reached a height in 2002 as rumors swirled that SpongeBob was homosexual, given his flamboyant nature and tendency to hold hands with his male starfish friend while watching a show called “The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.’’ Series creator Stephen Hillenburg denied the claims, saying the characters were “somewhat asexual.” Here, a look back at SpongeBob’s biggest controversies, on a scale of 1 to 4 Krabby Patties (1 meaning no one cared and 4 meaning the lynch mob was ready). This Friday sees the return of everyone’s favorite underwater rectangle in “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water.” But you don’t get to such a big, splashy feature without making a few waves. 'The Patrick Star Show': SpongeBob's starfish sidekick gets new series Real-life SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star spotted in Atlantic Was Lil Nas X referencing 'SpongeBob' during his VMAs performance?
Meet Plankton, the one-eyed fish from the Staten Island Zoo
