The Simpsons Producers Issue A Meta Response To Homer Strangling Controversy

For much of the show's existence, Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta) frequently strangling his 10-year-old son Bart (Nancy Cartwright) was perhaps questionable behavior viewers ignored in "The Simpsons." Then, a Season 35 episode that aired in October seemed to reveal that Homer's problematic "Simpsons" habit was no more. In short, Homer jokes about strangling Bart before clarifying that it's a relic of the past. "I don't do that anymore," he says. "Times have changed."

However, after news of this supposed development circulated on the Internet, the producers of "The Simpsons" collectively issued a drawing and faux statement in response. The drawing, posted to the official "Simpsons" account on X, formerly known as Twitter, depicts Bart holding a smartphone with text reading "'Simpsons': No more strangling" visible on its screen. Homer is strangling him and says, "Why you little clickbaiting — !!" Text accompanying the tweet, meanwhile, reads, "Homer Simpson was unavailable for comment as he was busy strangling Bart."

The tone of this post suggests that Homer's Season 35 joke was just that — a joke, rather than a definitive statement about the show's future. Whether or not Homer ever strangles Bart again, claims of this behavior's removal from "The Simpsons" outright have now effectively been proven inaccurate.

When the supposed news of Homer's decision to stop strangling Bart started circulating online, fan reaction was divided. For example, @EricMilzarski on the X platform claimed that the change was old news. "The real story is that the show is kind of entertaining again," they offered. Meanwhile, user @scrumble_eggs shared a link to an article about the supposed development and added, "#NotMyHomer."

On Reddit, responses to the news that "The Simpsons" did not, in fact, intend to announce a definitive change to the show are largely positive. The top comment in a popular Reddit thread about the "Simpsons" producers' post, for instance, is a screenshot of a moment in Season 9, Episode 10, in which Lisa (Yeardley Smith) attempts to strangle Bart — the implication here being that its poster thinks strangulation scenes can be funny. Many of the replies to their comment either agree that the scene is good or reference other strangulation moments from the series' past, adding to this sort of celebration of Homer's strangulation habit.

While the initial story may have divided viewers, the latest quasi-statement from the "Simpsons" producers seems to have had the opposite effect. Of course, some fans are doubtlessly still opposed to Homer's strangulation habit, but sentiments toward the clarification that it's not going away forever seem to be predominately positive nonetheless.