“Stark Raving Dad,” a 1991 episode of The Simpsons featuring the voiceover talent of Michael Jackson has been pulled by its producers after HBO’s Leaving Neverland documentary.
“The guys I work with – where we spend our lives arguing over jokes – were of one mind on this,” says the show’s executive producer James L. Brooks, who called the episode’s removal “the only choice to make.”
The episode featured Jackson as Leon Kompowsky, a patient who befriends Homer Simpson inside a psychiatric hospital. Leon believes he is the King Of Pop.
“This was a treasured episode,” Brooks continued. “There are a lot of great memories we have wrapped up in that one, and [the allegations] 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.”
In Leaving Neverland, two men allege that they were molested by Jackson as children after the late-musician implemented grooming tactics towards them and their families. Oprah Winfrey conducted an interview with the men- Wade Robson and James Safechuck- after the two-night, four-hour documentary aired.