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'The Simpsons' fans ask 'why now' after show decides to retire gag of Homer Simpson strangling son Bart

'The Simpsons', which began airing in 1989, has several scenes that are considered to be problematic in today's time

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The long-running show ‘The Simpsons’ has retired a long-running gag of Homer strangling his son Bart as a way of reprimand, eliciting a slew of reactions from the fans.

The third episode of Season 35, ‘McMansion & Wife’ is historic in the sense that it proved the beloved family show has adapted itself to the ways of the contemporary world as the patriarch Homer admitted to not strangling his son anymore.

As a show that's been on air for over 34 years, ‘The Simpsons’ has often been criticized for its problematic portrayal of the parent-child dynamic as the recurring act had an underlying tone of parental violence.

The program has often been called out for its brutality as, shouting "Why you little!", Homer squeezed his eldest son’s neck tightly, making him choke, as represented by his eyes bulging and tongue sticking out, per The Independent.

On October 22’s episode, Homer declared that he has changed his way of admonishing his son during a visit to their neighbor Thayer’s home.

Homer introduced himself to Thayer with a handshake, which elicited the new character to praise his firm grip. 

It was then Homer said, “See, Marge, strangling the boy paid off,” Homer remarks, before adding, “Just kidding, I don’t do that anymore. Times have changed.”

While the episode aired on October 22, the clip has been gaining traction on the internet after a social media user posted the clip on X (formerly Twitter) on November 2. 

'The Simpsons' fans called it 'the end of an error'

Internet was left divided after 'The Simpsons' finally decided to do away with the gag of parental violence, with some old fans wondering what prompted the sudden change. As news of this change spread on X, formerly Twitter, people took to the comments to express their thoughts on the change.

One of the fans commented on the sudden change, saying, "He’s been doing it forever. Why change now?"

Someone else was, however, more receptive to the change and said, "After all the Itchy and Scratchy moments…. Homer choking Bart is where we draw the line?"

Someone else quipped in disbelief, "I can’t believe we’ll never see this again," accompanied by a picture of the scene in question.

"We won’t be watching anymore. family guy better anyways," declared a fan.

"Whats even the point of changing," wondered someone else.

Another fan admitted ruefully, "But that was the best part of the show! Kidding aside, it's really a very long running show, and to be honest, I haven't been keeping up in quite a long time."

Another eagle-eyed fan observed, "I mean they haven't done that in a long time or not neatly as much as they used to from my understanding."

"The end of an error," declared someone else.

"He is been doing it forever don't change," pleaded a long-time fan of the show.

"This probably seemed to promote violence," commented a fan.

Someone else complained, "They are taking away the flavor of the series."

Problematic scenes in 'The Simpsons'

Parental violence is not the only problematic depiction that ‘The Simpsons’ has been called out for. Previously, the show has received immense criticism for its not-so-pristine handling of transphobia and sexual assault.

The Season 4 episode ‘Lisa’s First Word’ delivered the first instance of the show dealing with the subject of transgender people.

The episode surrounded the story of Homer’s Uncle Frank, where the character was warped into transitioning into a woman because of childhood mistreatment, per Medium.

In the episode, the character was described as “He became Francine back in ‘76. Then he joined that cult. I think his name is Mother Shibubu now.”

Back then, the show’s problematic portrayal of trans people drew ire from the audience because it misrepresented them as a distortion.

From Season 10 onwards, the show also problematically started using the term “She-male”.

Another point of contention among the fans of ‘The Simpsons’ grew from the animated series’ way of dealing with the theme of sexual assault.

In one episode featured in the ‘Simpsons Christmas 2’ DVD Collection, Homer was raped by a panda when he himself was in a panda costume.

Mr Burns, who was the mastermind of the prank, was aware of the entire situation and probably found the scene funny.