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A classic episode of “The Simpsons” in which Michael Jackson made an uncredited guest appearance was removed because the writers of the show believe the singer used it to groom boys.
Al Jean and Mike Reiss, the two creators behind the 1991 episode “Stark Raving Dad,” say after viewing the Leaving Neverland documentary and reviewing that particular show, they both believe now that the late pop star had an ulterior motive in agreeing to do the part, according to The Daily Beast.
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“I think it was part of what he used to groom boys,” said Jean, Rawstory reported. “I really don’t know, and I should be very careful because this is not something I know personally, but as far as what I think, that’s what I think — and that makes me very, very sad.”
In Leaving Neverland, which aired earlier this month, James Safechuck and Wade Robson allege they first met the deceased singer as children. Both men say they would share Jackson’s bed and eventually he started sexually abusing them – behavior that allegedly carried on for years.
“What saddens me is if you watch that documentary — which I did, and several of us here did — and you watch that episode, honestly, it looks like the episode was used by Michael Jackson for something other than what we’d intended it,” Reiss told Rawstory.
In the Season 3 episode, Jackson voiced the role of “Leon Kompowsky”, a patient in a ward of a psychological hospital who claimed to be the pop star. According to Jean and Reiss, it was Jackson’s idea to include a scene where he and Bart Simpson sang a duet, and the lyrics to that song gave the writers pause after watching Leaving Neverland.
“It wasn’t just a comedy to him. It was something that was used as a tool, and I strongly believe that,” Reiss explained to The Daily Beast. “That, to me, is my belief, and it’s why I think removing it is appropriate.”
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Reiss said there was no need to comb through other episodes of The Simpsons that may also I include questionable guest stars, but that he didn’t regret pulling the episode with Jackson.
“The episode itself has a false purpose, and that’s what I object to about it now,” Reiss said, according to Rawstory. “It’s not for any other reason that for what I just said, where if you watch the documentary and then you watch that episode, something’s amiss.”
Jackson’s estate and his family have vehemently denied the allegations made by Safechuck and Robson and have filed a $100 million lawsuit against HBO for airing the documentary.
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