Sonic the Hedgehog is a football. A political football. Sonic had for all intents and purposes, for something that was beyond his control, lost his right to tell his own narrative. He had long since become an issue that had been blown so far out of proportion that one could say it no longer registered. He was now a tool, a boogeyman for one to invoke in his own right, and every word that came out of his mouth would be twisted into something that was not correct.
It's become a practical requirement for one to have an opinion on Sonic and then force it onto those who disagree, as if he were the issue of queer rights. The queers, of course, do not have their own voices. A broken toy, Sonic had been used and manipulated by all political factions throughout his life. The constantly moving goalposts did not make things any better. Sonic had been forced into a position where it is all but impossible appease anyone. He was no longer an individual, forever subject to unwanted commentary by those who falsely believed that they had greater power than him.
Sonic is a cautionary tale of what happens when you give someone with power an inch; they will take a mile.