The fallout from new allegations of abuse against Michael Jackson have continued, with The Simpsons pulling the iconic episode starring the artist.
Over the last few days, numerous media outlets have broadcast the controversial Leaving Neverland documentary.
The documentary itself focuses around claims of child sex abuse made against Michael Jackson, giving particular attention to the allegations made by Jimmy Safechuck and Brisbane-born Wade Robson.
While the Jackson estate has called it nothing but a “tabloid character assassination”, it seems as though the allegations made have carried some weight, with radio stations around the world dropping Jackson’s music in response.
While the BBC initially denied they had taken Michael Jackson’s music out of rotation, other stations have since begun to do the same, with the likes of Nova 96.9 and smoothfm also dropping Jackson from their playlists.
Now, it seems that the fallout from these allegations has continued, with Jackson’s television work also being blacklisted.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, The Simpsons‘ executive producer, James L. Brooks, explained that a 1991 episode featuring Michael Jackson had been dropped from television and steaming services, noting that it was “the only choice to make.”
“The guys I work with – where we spend our lives arguing over jokes – were of one mind on this,” Brooks explained, referring to other executive producers Matt Groening and Al Jean.
“This was a treasured episode,” he continued. “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.”
Check out The Simpsons‘ ‘Do The Bartman’:
The episode in question, titled ‘Stark Raving Dad’, featured Homer Simpson befriending a man who believes himself to be Michael Jackson.
Considering that Jackson had performed on The Simpsons‘ ‘Do The Bartman’ one year earlier, it wasn’t exactly a huge leap to assume that the musician would have lent his voice to the show.
However, as fans watched the ending credits of the show, they would have noticed that only John Jay Smith was listed as a guest star, leading to mass confusion.
Back in 2018, The Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening was interviewed by none other than Briggs, where he confirmed that the character of Leon Kompowsky was indeed voiced by Jackson.
“We really did have him,” Groening began. “He said that he loved Bart and wanted to be on the show.”
“He did do the show. He didn’t want credit for it,” he continued. “There was some kind of deal with his record company or whatever.
“So when it came time to sing the songs, he had a soundalike singer [Kipp Lennon], and he stood there and watched the guy who was so nervous who had to sound like Michael Jackson.”
The estate of Michael Jackson are yet to comment on this episode’s removal.
Check out Michael Jackson on The Simpsons:
