Is Homer really forbidden from strangling Bart in “The Simpsons”? Producers denounce “clickbaiting” articles in a new design.
We told you about it just at the beginning of the week: the famous gag of an exasperated Homer who strangles Bart had to disappear from The Simpsons. And it’s no small thing to say that this decision got fans talking, at least on the Internet.
This is where everyone, of course, has an opinion. Today, The Simpsons’ executive producers prepared a response, in the form of a cartoon posted to Twitter:
With this comment: “Homer Simpson, busy strangling Bart, was unavailable for comment” and in the bubble of the drawing, Homer who says: “Why this clickbaiting!!“
The frenzy erupted after the “McMansion & Wife” episode, which aired October 22 on Fox. In this episode, the third of season 35, Homer jokes that all those years of strangling Bart have been rewarded with a now-firm handshake. But then he adds: “I do not do it anymore. The times have changed.“
Once people noticed it, it sparked hundreds of posts and thoughts on social media. Some applauded the series for making Homer a “good” father, while others lamented the change in times…
But as true Simpsons fans have noted, Homer had actually stopped strangling Bart for several seasons, with the last documented event taking place during season 31.
The show’s producers and loyal fans were surprised by last week’s disproportionate reaction, given that it’s actually old news — or at least, the kind of news that hasn’t raises eyebrows so far.
Homer strangling Bart is a running gag since the early Tracey Ullman Show animated shorts – but the stranglings in the series have extended far beyond these two characters.
The site Simpsons Wiki chronicles strangulations in over 140 episodes, by different characters. But especially Homer and Bart.