Russian TV Censors Rainbow from SpongeBob Episode

Russian television viewers have noticed that a well-known episode of SpongeBob SquarePants was altered to remove a rainbow, apparently as part of the country’s sweeping censorship of media and symbols deemed pro-LGBTQ.

According to independent news outlet ASTRA, the Russian television channel 2×2 replaced the rainbow with a solid yellow arc in a scene where SpongeBob waves his arms while talking about the fun of using one’s imagination.

The clip of SpongeBob waving his arms to reveal the rainbow has circulated for years as a popular social media meme. Although the scene has nothing to do with LGBTQ identity, there has long been speculation that SpongeBob and his friend Patrick “code” as a gay couple, which may have contributed to the decision to erase the rainbow.

Since the Russian Supreme Court’s November 2023 ruling branding the “international LGBT movement” as “extremist,” authorities have escalated their campaign against LGBTQ visibility, raiding clubs that cater to LGBTQ patrons or host LGBTQ-themed parties, shutting down advocacy organizations, and prosecuting people for displaying rainbow symbols.

The crackdown has extended beyond the six-color Pride flag to depictions of conventional rainbows. As ASTRA notes: “While the rainbow is indeed a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, the LGBTQ+ flag differs visually from a standard rainbow: it features six colored stripes rather than seven.”

That distinction has not stopped overzealous authorities from prosecuting people who display rainbow imagery, threatening them with fines or imprisonment while warning others against expressions of LGBTQ identity. In 2024, a woman was jailed for five days after posting a photo of rainbow-colored frog-shaped earrings online.

Russia’s censorship campaign predates the Supreme Court ruling. A 2013 law banned so-called “LGBT propaganda” to protect children from depictions of “non-traditional family relations.” In 2022, the Russian Duma, or parliament, expanded the ban to cover content accessible to people of all ages, fueling an ongoing wave of prosecutions for alleged violations.

Earlier this year, a Russian court ordered the deportation of a foreign national over an online review of a leather skirt he had purchased, according to the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta. In February, a Russian man was fined for posting a photo of the band Queen in drag that authorities deemed a violation of the country’s anti-propaganda law.

In April, a Russian court fined the news agency SaratovBusinessConsulting and its IT director for publishing a review of HBO’s gay romance series Heated Rivalry, which is censored on Russian streaming platforms and accessible only through a virtual private network. In May, a 36-year-old woman was sentenced to a forced labor camp for writing gay fan fiction about a K-pop group.