‘The Simpsons’ Episode Featuring Michael Jackson Pulled From Distribution

An episode of The Simpsons featuring the voice of Michael Jackson will be pulled from distribution  – less than a week after the release of a documentary, which exposed the singer’s alleged sexual abuse.

James L. Brooks, the executive producer of The Simpsons, told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that he and fellow executive producers Matt Groening and Al Jean are “of one mind on this.”

Fox's @TheSimpsons Season 3 episode “Stark Raving Dad” will be removed from circulation because of the sexual assault accusations made in HBO’s "#LeavingNeverland” documentary,https://t.co/WLIyWwxgkU

— LAT Entertainment (@latimesent) March 8, 2019

“The guys I work with—where we spend our lives arguing over jokes—were of one mind on this. It feels clearly the only choice to make.”

These actions were taken in response to Leaving Neverland, a documentary film about Jackson’s alleged sexual abuses towards Wade Robson and James Safechuck when they were children.

The iconic episode, “Stark Raving Dad,” features the voice of Jackson as Leon Kompowsky, a mental hospital patient who shares a room with Homer Simpson. Kompowsky even sang the song, Lisa It’s Your Birthday, which was actually sung by Kipp Lennon who provided the singing voice for the character. Jackson went credited under the pseudonym John Jay Smith when the episode originally aired.

The episode featuring Jackson will be removed from streaming services and future DVD sets.