Was this '90s cartoon about a secret gay plot for world domination?

From Spongebob and Patrick to Marcie and Peppermint Patty, there are plenty of children’s cartoon pairings that read as gay to grown-up eyes. But I’ve recently stumbled upon an interesting bit of information that suggests that there’s yet another animated duo to add to the gay agenda. ^{I’ve said too much.}

On the March 10 episode of The Sewers of Paris, a podcast about “the entertainment that has changed the lives of gay men,” host Matt Baume interviews actor and drag queen Mark Finley about the entertainment that has changed his life. While meandering back through his memories of studying at CalArts, Finley mentions that he once shared a dorm bathroom with Rusty Mills, an animation student who would later serve as producer and director on Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain. According to Finley, the two had some interesting nicknames for one another:

Rusty spent all of his time down by the pool and anywhere where girls were because clothing was optional at CalArts on campus. So he spent a lot of time down by the pool and…never got tan. He just got pink, and [so] I called him ‘Pinky.’ And he called me ‘Brain’ because I wore these…big black government-issued glasses.

Pinky and the Brain, eh? The plot thickens:

We were in the bathroom every week at the same time [because of our early morning classes.] He [would joke that] gays were going to take over the world, and so when I would see him he’d say, ‘What are you up to today, Brain?’ And I’d say, ‘Same thing I’m up to every day: trying to take over the world.’

Fans of the Kids WB classic will recognize this exchange as being eerily similar to what Pinky and the Brain would say to one another at the start of every episode:

Pinky: Gee, Brain, what do you wanna do tonight?

Brain: Same thing we do every night, Pinky: try to take over the world.

Is it possible that an inside joke about a secret plan for gay world domination laid the groundwork for Pinky and the Brain? I’m unable to verify Finley’s anecdote with Rusty Mills himself, since Mills died in 2012. And series creator Tom Ruegger has not responded to multiple requests for comment (although I’ll update the story if I hear back). But sure, it’s definitely possible. What I can confirm is that all children’s cartoon characters are actually gay. ^{I’ve said too much.}