10 Simpsons Secrets You Never Knew
9. The Michael Jackson Episode Was Controversial In More Ways Than One
The Season 3 episode, “Stark Raving Dad” is often considered one of the show’s most controversial episodes, but for more ways than just one.
The episode sees Homer wrongfully committed to a mental asylum, where he shares a room with a man, Leon Kompowsky, who believes he’s Michael Jackson, and it was apparently voiced by Jackson himself. The episode made headlines last year after it was removed from syndication due to the controversy surrounding Jackson. Even now, it is the only episode in the show not to feature on Disney+.
However, that wasn’t the only way the episode was controversial - in fact, some claim that Jackson did not guest star at all. Due to a contract discrepancy, Jackson could not sing on the show, and sound-alike Kipp Lennon did all of Kompowsky’s singing parts. Also, Groening has never confirmed or denied that Jackson did indeed guest star, and he was only credited as “John Jay Smith”.
Some fans have theorised that this means that Jackson did not actually guest in the episode at all, and it was all a marketing ploy to get people to watch it.