The creator of The Annoying Orange web series, Dane Boedigheimer, recently came out as transgender on social media. The popular internet figure also appeared for an interview with YouTubers Smosh to make the announcement.
As the voice actor shared the news, fans took to the internet to extend support. Others also took to social media to express exasperation over the possibility of transphobic comments appearing online. One netizen noted:
For those unversed, Annoying Orange features the fruit talking to other food items on the series. The semi-animated show includes jokes like- “Orange you glad?” The YouTube channel of the series has amassed over 12.3 million subscribers and has become a hit amongst youngsters and millennials.
Recently, the creator of the web series, Dane Boedigheimer, took to Instagram to address their s*xuality. While sharing pictures of themselves and the Smosh team, they announced in their caption that they were “proudly” transgender. They went on to add:
“This journey has been a rollercoaster, filled with self-discovery, ups, downs, acceptance, and more love than I thought possible. I’ve known since I was very young, and it took 45 trips around the sun for me to find the courage to share this truth with you all.”
Dane Boedigheimer went on to thank followers, friends, and family for their support. They also made the announcement with the Smosh team on their official YouTube channel. Those interested can watch the same on their channel.
“My goat fr”: Netizens celebrate Annoying Orange creator coming out as transgender
Many netizens expressed that although they were not fans of the web series, they were happy for the creator. Several internet users took to the internet to extend support and also shut down transphobes. A few tweets online read:
Some also noted that they did not find it surprising that Dane Boedigheimer came out as trans as the latter had revealed that their web series’ character Marshmallow was non-binary. Others took to the internet to reminisce Boedigheimer calling transphobes “apples.”
For those uninitiated, Apple is a character in the Annoying Orange series. He is best known for being Orange’s rival and is often remembered for his death in the series.
Everything to know about Dane Boedigheimer
Dane Boedigheimer initially worked for MTV‘s Pimp My Ride television series. They went on to become a writer, voice actor, and animator for the Happy Tree Friends series.
The Minnesota-native was inspired to create the sensational web series after working on talking food videos for JibJab. The Annoying Orange was then released in October 2009.
After garnering immense success, Cartoon Network went on to acquire television rights for the series, which was titled The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange.
Speaking about their passion for video creation, they had said in the past:
“I was spending entire days making short videos with my younger brother. It all just blossomed from there. I remember sitting in my room for hours editing my videos with two VCRs. It was painstaking, but I loved it. There was something magical about making stories come to life right in front of my eyes, no matter how crappy those stories were.”
Now, the series has introduced its own merchandise that includes plush toys of the characters like Pear, Apple, Grapefruit, Grandpa Lemon, and Passionfruit amongst others.
Dane Boedigheimer has amassed over 15k followers on Instagram where they frequently share snippets of their life. They are married to Theresa Barket. The couple now live in Sierra Madre, California.
