The Simpsons: Homer's Most Problematic Habit Is No More - 'Times Have Changed'

"The Simpsons" of today is, in plenty ways, a far cry from the original series of shorts on "The Tracey Ullman Show" from which the iconic cartoon originates. Even an element as central as Dan Castellaneta's performance of Homer Simpson differs significantly in that early run. Of course, "The Simpsons" is still changing to this day, most recently clarifying that Homer has done away with his most problematic habit.

Homer strangling Bart (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) is among some of the most visually iconic recurring gags in early "Simpsons" seasons. In more recent years, during which parental violence has simply become unacceptable punchline material, Homer has refrained from enacting this form of punishment. Now, as of Season 35, Episode 3, Homer has made this change explicit. In the episode, a wealthy man named Thayer (Hank Azaria) moves in next to the Simpsons family. When the patriarchs of both households first meet, Thayer compliments Homer's handshake. "See Marge," Homer replies. "Strangling the boy has paid off. Just kidding, I don't do that anymore — times have changed."

So, while strangulation may have unofficially become a relic of a bygone era previously, it's now safe to say that this era of "The Simpsons" is definitively over as of the Season 35 joke.

Homer's treatment of Bart has generated controversy for just about as long as "The Simpsons" has been on the air. In one of the most public criticisms of the series, President George H. W. Bush hoped during the 1992 Republican National Convention that American families could be more like the titular family in "The Waltons" and less like the Simpsons. Some fans have continued to question Homer's behavior in the years leading up to this Season 35 episode. Reddit user Jerswar, for example, started a thread in April of 2020 asking in its title, "why are we all collectively okay with Homer Simpson violently choking his ten year old son?"

The show itself even acknowledged the inappropriateness of Homer's behavior in a Season 22, Episode 17 storyline in which Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — playing himself — strangles Homer in an effort to deter him from doing the same thing to his son. Despite seeming like that should have marked an end to Homer's bad habit, this behavior still continued to pop up as a punchline, albeit sporadically.

Only over the course of the past few seasons have Homer's strangulations stopped completely, leading up to the now-viral revelation that he's done violently punishing his son for good.