Writers on “The Simpsons” seem to have hinted that one classic joke is officially done.
In the third episode of Season 35, “McMansion & Wife,” Homer meets his new neighbor and tells him he doesn’t plan on choking Bart anymore.
When the neighbor says Homer has a firm handshake, the Simpson family patriarch responds, “See, Marge, strangling the boy paid off,” but follows up by saying, “Just kidding, I don’t do that anymore. Times have changed.”
The Simpsons seemingly confirm that they have retired their long-running gag of Homer strangling Bart in the latest episode:
“See, Marge, strangling the boy paid off. Just kidding, I don’t do that anymore. Times have changed.” pic.twitter.com/EHQWUdOHgZ
— Pop Base (@PopBase) November 6, 2023
Fans understood this as creators of the long-running animated show laying this gag to rest. The strangling had previously been addressed in Season 22 when Homer goes to therapy and learns of the harm he’s been doing to Bart.
Homer has choked Bart on some new episodes since then, per TMZ, but last did it during Season 31, which aired from 2019-20. If the latest episode is factual, then Homer may be done with that form of discipline.
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Fans were divided on the update, with some saying it was a welcome change or didn’t matter and others arguing that the bit was always “funny and harmless.”
This isn’t the first change “The Simpsons” made to appeal to modern audiences. Actor Hank Azaria apologized for voicing the Indian character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
“I was speaking at my son’s school, I was talking to the Indian kids there because I wanted to get their input,” Azaria said. “A 17-year-old … he’s never even seen ‘The Simpsons’ but knows what Apu means. It’s practically a slur at this point. All he knows is that is how his people are thought of and represented to many people in this country.”
“I really do apologize,” the actor continued. “It’s important. I apologize for my part in creating that and participating in that. Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize. And sometimes I do.”
In February 2021, it was announced that the long-running character Dr. Hibbert, who is black, would be recast with Kevin Michael Richardson after decades of being voiced by the white voice actor Harry Shearer.