It is no secret that many fans of the show “SpongeBob SquarePants” (1999) believe Nickelodeon is ‘disrespecting’ the legacy of the show’s creator, Stephen Hillenburg. Under any social media post, time how long it takes before seeing a comment bashing Nickelodeon over the supposed mockery of Hillenburg with modern “SpongeBob” episodes. The timer would barely hit a minute before a flock of like-minded users appear and repeat the same sentiment that has been popularized over the years.

These fans claim that Nickelodeon has been constantly defiling the grave of Hillenburg ever since his untimely death in 2018. That, somehow, the television channel waited until Hillenburg passed away in order to greenlight the “SpongeBob SquarePants” spin offs they had in the works. This thinking has somehow managed to trickle its way out of the show’s main fandom and leak into the brains of the general public.

It is not just the fans of “SpongeBob SquarePants” who believe Nickelodeon handled Stephen Hillenburg’s creation in the worst of ways; people who have not watched the show since their childhoods adopted this perspective, nurturing it as if it was their original thought.

The extremity of this situation would cause onlookers to believe that everything being said about Nickelodeon is backed by an abundance of evidence. However, looking deeper into it uncovers a series of misunderstandings and contradictions that—when put together—makes for another case of the internet’s misguided judgement.

The go-to reason many like to point out as far as Nickelodeon disrespecting Stephen Hillenburg is his supposed ruling out of “SpongeBob SquarePants” having any spin-offs. Meaning that the spin-offs made after his death, “Kamp Koral” (2024) and “The Patrick Star Show” (2021), were shows that Hillenburg would have seemingly hated.

In a 2009 interview with Television Business International, trade journal for the international television business, Hillenburg was asked whether he thought about the potential of there being any “SpongeBob” spin-offs.

The most important thing to take away from his answer is that Hillenburg did not see any spin-offs happening in the near future, mainly due to the importance of SpongeBob as the main character. It is important to understand that nowhere in this interview did he firmly denounce the possibility of a “SpongeBob SquarePants” spin-off.

In an extensive game of telephone, Hillenburg stating that he could not see any spin-offs being made turned into him completely turning down the possibility of any new cartoons set in Bikini Bottom. It is understandable why people cling to this interview considering the fact that it is a firsthand account from the creator himself. However, it is clear that every time Hillenburg’s words are used, those who are brandishing them clearly misinterpret the offhand comment that was made.

It is virtually impossible to know what Stephen Hillenburg truly thought about potential “SpongeBob SquarePants” spin-offs— though Paul Tibbitt, a former worker of the cartoon, believed that Hillenburg would have hated them.

Tibbitt worked in various roles (writer, storyboard artist and director) for the show all the way from 1999 to 2018; after Hillenburg left “SpongeBob SquarePants” in 2004, he personally appointed Tibbitt to take over his position as showrunner.

After “Kamp Koral”, a spin-off that follows a ten-year-old SpongeBob who spends his summer at sleepaway camp, was announced, Tibbitt took to X (at the time, Twitter) to tweet his displeasures.

On June 4, 2019, Tibbitt called the executives behind the spin-off “greedy” and that they are fully aware that Hillenburg would have hated it.

Tibbitt and Hillenburg worked together for years, so it would not be the most absurd thing to assume that he knew of Hillenburg’s wishes regarding the show.

For most people this was all the confirmation needed; Tibbitt’s tweet only strengthened the belief that Nickelodeon was purposely disrespecting Stephen Hillenburg. It is hard to dispute a claim from a person who knew the late “SpongeBob SquarePants” creator himself. However, a few years later, a different tweet from another work of the series would cause the tides to shift.

Vincent Waller started working on “SpongeBob SquarePants” towards the end of the show’s first season and left after it was completed. He later returned during the series’ fourth season and was promoted to creative director. Waller would then go on to serve as executive producer and showrunner of “Kamp Koral”.

On February 4th, 2021, Waller tweeted out that Hillenburg was fully aware that “Kamp Koral” was in development, though he did not live to see it be released. Near the end, Waller expressed that he thinks “Kamp Koral” would have made Hillenburg smile.

Two completely different opinions regarding Hillenburg’s feelings towards “Kamp Koral;” one insists he would have hated what they are doing with his prized creation while the other implies the exact opposite.

Regardless of whose opinion some may believe, the truth that many seem to ignore is that the man in question is not here to tell his own side of the story. The true disrespect of this situation lies with those who weaponize Stephen Hillenburg and twist his words into something unrecognizable.

In response to the modern episodes of “SpongeBob SquarePants”, people fully equip Hillenburg in order to explain their hatred. They do not base it off of writing, animation or how the show’s artistic choices have changed over the years—instead, they use the exact same talking points. It is either implying that Stephen Hillenburg would hate to see what happened to his creation or simply accusing Nickelodeon of disrespecting his legacy.

These few fail to take into account that after Hillenburg resigned from the show in 2004, he remained as executive producer. Although he did not have any direct involvement with the show, he still had an advisory position where episodes were approved by him before being aired.

They also do not acknowledge that Hillenburg came out of his semi-retired state to co-write “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” (2015), alongside acting as an executive producer on the project.

People online often make assumptions about what Hillenburg would have thought about these spin-offs that mirror their personal views. Most of those users making these types of comments never personally knew Stephen Hillenburg, but that does not stop them from speaking as if they did.

Bringing up the name of the creator who passed away every time someone does not like an aspect of modern “SpongeBob SquarePants” is not fair or respectful. The issue isn’t that Nickelodeon is disrespecting Hillenburg– it’s that those who repeatedly use his name as a point of criticism are the ones dishonoring his legacy.

There are plenty of reasons out there to criticize Nickelodeon, especially after the release of the documentary, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” (2024). However, this situation regarding Hillenburg’s legacy is not one of them.

It has been a while since the discussion has begun and it is long overdue for it to finally be put to rest. This debate is yet another example of how there is more to a story than what the comment sections of social media posts often display.