'Rugrats' reboot character Betty DeVille to be openly gay
Watch: Phil and Lil’s mom is an out lesbian single mom in ‘Rugrats’ reboot
Rugrats character Betty DeVille will be openly gay in the CGI reboot, it has been revealed.
The 90s cartoon is being revamped with Parks And Recreation star Natalie Morales voicing Betty, the mum of Phil and Lil DeVille.
The actor – who came out as queer in 2017 – said she hopes Betty will be “a beacon for young queer people”.
Read more: New Rugrats series and movie in the pipeline
She told The AV Club: “Betty is a single mom with her own business who has twins and still has time to hang out with her friends and her community, and I think it’s just so great because examples of living your life happily and healthily as an out queer person is just such a beacon for young queer people who may not have examples of that.”
I noticed they changed the symbol on Betty's shirt#Rugrats #Nickelodeon #ParamountPlus pic.twitter.com/B0lCZeZj1Q
— ChelseatheCartoonGal (@CartoonGal1) May 27, 2021
Morales said while Betty is fictional, when she was young if she’d seen the character casually discussing a former girlfriend a part of her “would have felt like things might be okay in the future”.
Rugrats premiered in 1991 and followed a group of toddlers and their lives.
The show - which featured voice performances from the likes of Simpsons legends Nancy Cartwright and Dan Castellaneta - was hugely popular.
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It ran for nine series and 172 episodes through the 90s and early 2000s, with its final episode airing in 2004.
Kath Soucie voiced Betty in the original series.
Several original cast members are reprising their roles in the reboot, including Cartwright as Chuckie and Cheryl Chase as Angelica.
Watch: Rugrats cast recreate fan favourite lines