Overview

The Simpsons "Michael Jackson" Episode Removal refers to the self-imposed banning of the 1991 episode of the American animated comedy The Simpsons entitled "Stark Raving Dad," which guest-starred recording artist Michael Jackson. Following the release of Leaving Neverland, a 2019 documentary in which two men allege, in great detail, that they were the victims of sexual abuse at Jackson's hands when they were children, The Simpsons creators announced they would be removing the episode from future airings, home-video releases and streaming, a decision that was largely met with animosity by fans of the series.

Background

On September 19th, 1991, Fox aired the episode of The Simpsons "Stark Raving Dad," which features Michael Jackson as a guest star (clip below).^[1]

On March 4th, 2019, HBO premiered the documentary Leaving Neverland to subscribers. In the film, two men, Wade Robson and Jimmy Safechuck, describe their experience with Michael Jackson, who they accuse of sexually abusing them over a period of time as children.

Following the film's release, Simpsons co-creator James L. Brooks told the Wall Street Journal^[2] that he and Simpsons-creator Matt Groening and showrunner Al Jean decided to remove the episode from future airings, home-video releases and streaming platforms. He said:

It feels clearly the only choice to make. The guys I work with--where we spend our lives arguing over jokes--were of one mind on this. This was a treasured episode. There are a lot of great memories we have wrapped up in that one, and this certainly doesn’t allow them to remain. I’m against book burning of any kind. But this is our book, and we’re allowed to take out a chapter.

Developments

Online Reaction

There was a mixed reaction to the episodes removal among fans of the series. On Simpsons Shitposting Facebook groups, some used the depiction of Jackson's character from the Simspons to parody the perceived erasure of the character from Simpsons history (shown below, left).^[3] Others agreed with the decision, one, in particular, argued this with the Am I Out Of Touch meme (shown below, right).^[4]

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the removal, including The AV Club,^[5] The Hollywood Reporter,^[6] Rolling Stone,^[7] CNN,^[8] Associated Press^[9] and more.

Search Interest

External References