The Simpsons: When Smhers' Gay Clu First Started

Contents:

• ‘THE SIMPSONS’ LANDMARK GAY EPISO KEEPS THE FAY
• JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED PRO LEAGU
• THE SIMPSONS' SMHERS TO FALLY E OUT AS GAY, PRODUCER REVEALS
• THE SIMPSONS’ WAYLON SMHERS FDS LOVE HISTORIC GAY EPISO
• THE SIMPSONS: WHEN SMHERS' GAY CLU FIRST STARTED
• TOM HOLLAND’S THE CROWD ROOM GAY SEX SCENE SPARKS APPALLG HOMOPHOBIC BACKLASH

‘THE SIMPSONS’ LANDMARK GAY EPISO KEEPS THE FAY

And while ’s a historil moment for Smhers, ’s also a full-circle one for longtime seri wrer Rob LaZebnik, whose son, Johnny, spired Smhers’ big, gay g-out episo 2016. Of urse, Smhers — who fds himself thst to a globe-trottg, whirlwd romance wh Garber’s fashnista — was already fluenced by them both when he bted down his closet door 2016’s touchg Season 27 episo “Tom Colls, ” which was penned by Rob as an homage to his gay son. “So often, gay romanc are a subplot or allud to or shown some kd of montage or as a punchle.

And what I thk I was really exced about, wh this episo, we get to see — whout spoilg too much — the begng, middle and who knows how ends of a gay relatnship, of really gettg to the nty-grty of how gay people date, how they meet, what ’s like, ” he said. “I haven’t played a lot of gay characters, but every time I do , brgs back certa feelgs I had as a young actor where I uldn’t be gay. Both episos were penned by longtime seri wrer Rob LaZebnik, who revealed to the New York Post he had an assist om his gay son, Johnny, the creatn of both episos.

"While lettg Smhers e out of the closet was a major achievement for visibily back 2016, the father-son duo wanted to do more than jt make another one-dimensnal gay uple and relatnship.

JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED PRO LEAGU

"So often, gay romanc are a subplot or allud to or shown some kd of montage or as a punchle, " Johnny ntued. "And what I thk I was really exced about, wh this episo, we get to see -- whout spoilg too much -- the begng, middle and who knows how ends of a gay relatnship, of really gettg to the nty-grty of how gay people date, how they meet, what 's like, " he said.

"I haven't played a lot of gay characters, but every time I do , brgs back certa feelgs I had as a young actor where I uldn't be gay. The character, who me out a 2016 episo of the animated Fox seri, will be at the center of a gay romance storyle an episo set to air on November 21. “So often, gay romanc are a subplot or allud to or shown some kd of montage or as a punchle, ” Johnny LaZebnik told the New York Post this week.

THE SIMPSONS' SMHERS TO FALLY E OUT AS GAY, PRODUCER REVEALS

“And what I thk I was really exced about, wh this episo, we get to see – whout spoilg too much – the begng, middle and who knows how ends of a gay relatnship, of really gettg to the nty-grty of how gay people date, how they meet, what ’s like. Garber, the openly gay star of Global’s “Fay Law, ” told the New York Post he was “ccially important that the stori are acknowledged, ” addg that every time he plays a gay character “ brgs back certa feelgs I had as a young actor where I uldn’t be gay.

-based profsnal league to e out as gay. Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St. Cult in John Waters was the first openly gay character on The Simpsons, and the show's treatment of him signaled a tidal shift Amerin TV.

When a character was referred to as gay, the figure qutn almost always played as tragic or, more often, herently il.

THE SIMPSONS’ WAYLON SMHERS FDS LOVE HISTORIC GAY EPISO

The Simpsons mocked almost everythg (except Scientology) s Goln Age, but unlike most ss of the time, the seri didn’t treat s first openly gay character as a walkg joke. Beg gay was, and of self, seen as a punchle even for progrsive televisn of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, and few shows were terted challengg this.

THE SIMPSONS: WHEN SMHERS' GAY CLU FIRST STARTED

However, the show was still subject to work censorship and, although the star of Ellen me out as a lbian two months later, “Homer’s Phobia” was one of the first attempts to break down the visible barrier faced by gay characters. While no one explicly stated that any characters were to be stereotyped, was all-but-unheard of for a character like John, who was picted as charmg, lm, and genial, to be gay.

TOM HOLLAND’S THE CROWD ROOM GAY SEX SCENE SPARKS APPALLG HOMOPHOBIC BACKLASH

The Simpsons rarely ma small-town Sprgfielrs the villas of the story, but this stance, turng Homer to the bad guy led Amerin dienc to intify wh a sweet, likable character who happened to be gay over the regnizable s dad they were ually expected to love and see as herently harmls spe his prejudice. However, “Homer’s Phobia” picked Waters not bee of his fame but bee his public image reprented the perfect tersectn between all-Amerin manners and the more outre, unfaiar aspects of queer culture, mp, and the gay experience.

Castg Waters as a level-head, kd, and unrstandg face of the LGBTQ+ muny allowed The Simpsons to celebrate mp, queer culture, and outsir art whout makg the character himself a stereotype or offensive riture of what was perceived as “gay. In ntrast, anyone unfaiar wh the director’s ovre got a funny, self-pretg look to LGBTQ+ culture a story where beg gay was neher a joke to lghed at, or an odd spectacle to be leered and jeered at.

Waters had a sense of humor about John and ma him a funny figure whout treatg his gayns self as a joke. The fact that his character The Simpsons was both mp and ol pared to Homer and pany’s “normal” and nrotic reactn to him was one of televisn’s first attempts to see homophobia as the exceptn and not the norm.