June 1st 2025.
The popular animated series, The Simpsons, recently made the decision to remove one of its episodes from rotation due to the involvement of a controversial guest star. The episode, titled "Stark Raving Dad", was the first episode of season 3 and originally aired on September 19, 1991. However, almost 30 years later, it was banned from airing worldwide and removed from streaming services due to the renewed allegations of child sexual abuse against Michael Jackson, who had a guest role in the episode.
At the time, Jackson was credited as John Jay Smith and voiced a character named Leon Kompowski, whom Homer meets in a mental institution and believes to be the King of Pop. Jackson was a big fan of the show and had reached out to its creator, Matt Groening, expressing his desire to be a part of it. He even pitched his own ideas and wrote the song "Happy Birthday, Lisa" for his episode. In the episode, Bart promises his sister the best present ever and ends up getting her a birthday song from her favorite artist, Michael Jackson.
However, despite Jackson's involvement in the production process and his love for the show, his appearance ultimately became the downfall of the episode. In January 2019, the controversial documentary Leaving Neverland was released, in which two men alleged that they had been sexually abused by Jackson when they were young boys. The director of the documentary described it as a study of the psychology of child sexual abuse, told through the stories of two families who were groomed by a pedophile masquerading as a trusted friend.
The allegations made in the documentary caused a stir among Jackson's fans and tarnished his legacy in many ways. The controversy also led to the decision to axe the episode "Stark Raving Dad" to sever any connection to Jackson. In the aftermath of the documentary's release, Jackson's estate continued to deny the allegations and emphasized that the accusers had previously testified in court that they had not been abused by Jackson.
Despite the controversy surrounding Jackson, he had somewhat of an involvement in other Simpsons episodes. He wrote the song "Do the Bartman" in an attempt to give Bart a chart-topping hit, but did not receive credit for it. He was also mentioned in the episode "Bart Sells His Soul" when Bart says that there is no such thing as a soul, just like the boogeyman or Michael Jackson. Another reference to Jackson was made in the 2003 episode "The Bart of War".
Currently, a Jackson biopic is in the works with his nephew, Jaafar Jackson, set to portray him. The movie was originally scheduled to be released after April 1, 2026, but has recently been pushed back. In addition, the accusers from the Leaving Neverland documentary will have their day in court in November 2026, when their joint lawsuit against Jackson's companies will be heard. Despite the controversy and the decision to remove "Stark Raving Dad" from circulation, Jackson's impact on pop culture and his involvement in The Simpsons will always be remembered.
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