Tinky Winky Was Outed Long Before Falwell

Before Falwell Ever Mentioned Teletubbies In February, 1999 - If Tinky Winky wasn't gay, he was about one Broadway show away . . .

“Gays have championed Tinky Winky and his beloved red purse, and night-clubbers have adopted the show as a sort of druggy daydream.”
— Newsweek, April 6, 1998

“Tinky actually became a gay icon in Britain because, for no apparent reason, his voice is male but he sometimes carries a flashy red purse.”
—The Toronto Star, April 6, 1998

“Tinky Winky, the heaviest, looks a little like an eggplant with cellulite. He also sometimes carries a red purse, which has won him popularity among gay viewers.”
— The Washington Post, April 06, 1998

Tinky?became quite the celebrity, especially after gay-rights groups fought for his reinstatement, partly because Tinky Winky has a male voice but skips about Teletubbyland carrying a red purse.
— Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas), April 6, 1998

“And what's with Tinky Winky, whose voice sounds strangely mature and who sometimes carries a red handbag?”
— The New York Times, April 6, 1998

But today many forms of gender nonconformity have actually become mainstream. . . . Even Teletubbies, a show for toddlers, features Tinky Winky, a boy who carries a red patent-leather purse.
— Time Magazine, July 20, 1998

“The way the original Tinky Winky carried his tote-bag-size red purse reportedly made him a gay icon in Britain.”
— Time Magazine, July 20, 1998