THE SIMPSONS © 2021 BY 20TH TELEVISIONViewers will know he
has had a crush on his
conniving boss since
season one in 1990
TELEVISION
‘A
re you free for dinner
tonight?” is a common ques-
tion in a rom-com or a soap.
But in the bonkers world of
Springfield, romantic invita-
tions are more rare — and
never between two yellow-faced guys.
That changed last Sunday when the
newest Simpsons character, the sugar
daddy and fashionista Michael De Graaf,
voiced by Victor Garber, made a pass at
Smithers, the loyal assistant to the
cantankerous billionaire Mr Burns.
Ay caramba! It has taken more than
three decades for Smithers to find a
boyfriend. Viewers will know that he’s
gay and had been harbouring a crush
on his conniving boss since making his
first appearance in the third episode of
season one in 1990. Yet it wasn’t until
an episode in 2016 that the character
came out to Mr Burns, who rejected
his affections.
Five years later and in the latest
episode, which has just aired in Amer-
ica, even Smithers was surprised by the
dinner invitation from the besuited
newcomer. “Sorry?” he replies, eyes
wide and eyebrows raised.
Part of the cartoon’s fanbase rejoiced
at the whirlwind romance between the
two male characters. Others raised
a sceptical eyebrow.
In recent years The Simpsons has
found itself in the crossfire of these
cultural skirmishes. From one side it is
attacked for its old-fashioned and
seemingly bigoted legacy; from the
other it is denounced as “woke”.
Harry Shearer, who is white, stepped
down last year as the voice of Dr
Hibbert, an African-American doctor.
Hank Azaria, also white, stopped voic-
ing the Indian shop owner Apu, as well
as Homer’s black co-worker Carl and
Marge’s gay Cuban hairdresser Julio.
In January the American podcast
series Gayest Episode Ever shared a two-
hour video montage of every LGBT
moment in the animated series. It’s an
uncomfortable collection of snapshots,
with gay characters often the punch-
line. In one scene Homer tells his gay
sister-in-law Patty that he’d vote against
a law that would allow her to adopt
kids. In another Homer shrieks when
he discovers that he danced with a gay
man in his lounge. “Think of the prop-
erty value, Marge, now we can never
say only straight people have been in
this house.” Is Homer a Neanderthal
homophobe — or the butt of the joke?
The video racked up more than
1.6 million views on YouTube and appar-
ently prompted Rob LaZebnik to write
the latest Smithers-centric episode. He
co-wrote Portrait of a Lackey on Fire
with his son, Johnny, who is gay. Speak-
ing on the podcast, Rob said he believes
Smithers’s love story is “reflective of the
country’s growth. Over time television
has been a part of that evolution.”
Yet one Twitter user, @sxugaryx,
was quick to point out that Smithers
has “always been gay. This is not a newPeter Pan. The Siamese cats in Lady and
the Tramp. Certain titles such as Aladdin,
Dumbo and The Aristocats on Disney+
are now prefaced by a 12-second warn-
ing of “negative depictions and/or mis-
treatment of people or cultures”.
The mouse conglomerate may now
own The Simpsons, but its big anima-
tion studios — Walt Disney Animation
Studios and Pixar — have so far steered
clear of any homophobia hoo-ha,
largely because neither studio has had
an openly gay lead character in an ani-
mated feature film.
There have been blink-and-you’ll-
miss-it Pixar moments. A lesbian
couple collect a child from school in
Toy Story 4. A female cyclops makes
a passing mention of her wife in
Onward. Two women are seen with
a baby in Finding Dory. Will Disney
follow Smithers out of the closet
with some openly gay characters
of its own, or is it scared of raised
eyebrows? cthing.” Indeed, Lauren Rosewarne, an
associate professor at the University of
Melbourne, in her book American
Taboo says The Simpsons played a “piv-
otal role” in normalising gay characters
on television.
So should The Simpsons be ashamed
of its past or proud of its evolution?
And which stereotype will be updated
next? Groundskeeper Willie, the hard-
drinking fighty Scot, and the Bible-thumping do-gooder Ned Flanders are
possible contenders.
The Simpsons isn’t the only animated
series that has landed in the no man’s
land of the culture wars. In Family Guy
the role of Peter Griffin’s black friend
Cleveland Brown was recently recast,
with Arif Zahir stepping in to replace
the white actor Mike Henry. Netflix’s
Big Mouth replaced Jenny Slate with Ayo
Edebiri as the voice of Missy, a black
character. Apple TV+’s Central Park
swapped Kristen Bell for Emmy Raver-
Lampman as Molly, a mixed-race char-
acter. Betty DeVille has been rewritten
as openly gay in the Rugrats reboot.
Disney classics have also
become embroiled. In the era of
Time’s Up, #MeToo and Black
Lives Matter, Disney’s back cata-
logue of stereotyping has been
well documented. The crows in
Dumbo that drew on minstrel
caricatures of African-Ameri-
cans. The Native Americans inAY CARAMBA!
Homer erotic Smithers shares a kiss
with his new beau, Michael De Graaf.
Below: Homer SimpsonAfter three decades Smithers has found a boyfriend. Jake Helm looks at the role
of The Simpsons in the culture wars — and wonders what might happen next
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