The Simpsons: 10 Most Controversial Moments Ever
7. Offending New Orleans
From ticking off foreign countries, to ticking one of their own famous cities, in the episode, “A Streetcar Named Marge”, the Simpsons managed to make an enemy of New Orleans.
The episode was centred around Marge getting a role in a musical. It was basically a modified version of the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. Unlike the original however, the Simpsons version involved some rather unpleasant references to New Orleans.
More specifically, it calls New Orleans a haven for pirates and wh*res. Needless to say, anyone would be angry at their city being insulted in such fashion. The Simpsons incurred the full wrath of New Orleans. And unlike previous occasions, they had to take it seriously.
Jamie Kellner, then President of Fox, issued a formal apology, followed by a segment at the beginning of the next week’s episode where Bart scribbles, “I will not defame New Orleans”, during the usual blackboard bit.