Claim: The children's TV show "SpongeBob SquarePants" was created to entertain children trafficked by sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. Among them was the TV show "SpongeBob SquarePants," which posts claimed was created in order to entertain children trafficked by Epstein and his associates. The more broad claim, that "SpongeBob" was created to entertain Epstein's victims, is false too. Since the government's collection of files on Epstein has now been (mostly) released, it stands to reason that if "SpongeBob SquarePants" was indeed created in connection with Epstein, the files would likely mention the show or its creator, Stephen Hillenburg. So, Snopes looked through the files, searching for the terms "SpongeBob" and "Stephen Hillenburg."

Source: Los Angeles Times March 05, 2026 11:05 UTC