The Simpsons: 10 Most Controversial Moments Ever

4. The Principal Skinner Reveal

The Simpsons Strong Arms of the Ma
Fox

This one is less offensive content and more offending the viewers’ tastes.

Principal Seymour Skinner had been one of the show’s most popular characters. An educational bureaucrat, he is always seen fighting to keep Springfield Elementary School from falling apart due to a lack of resources and zero enthusiasm among teachers and students. He is also a Vietnam War veteran and has both the physical and mental scars to show from his years of service.

All of which meant that when the show suddenly revealed the character to be a fake, fans were not best pleased. In The Principal and the Pauper, the Principal reveals that he was not the real Skinner. His true name was Armin Tamzarian, a war buddy of the real Skinner. He stole the latter’s identity after believing him to have died during the war.

This episode was supposedly based on the Tichborne case from Victorian England. Regardless, fans felt insulted and the episode went down as one of the Simpsons’ most divisive.

In this post: 
The Simpsons
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

After battling Galactus and pinning Hulk Hogan in the main event of Wrestlemania, I've taken a break from living in fantasy worlds, to focus on writing about them. I'm a comic book geek, a wrestling mark, a break dancer, and a scientist. One of those things may not be true.