Simpsons executive producer says Mr Burns’s assistant, long rumored to be gay, will finally come out of the closet during two episodes of current season

One of the greatest stories of unrequited love in modern popular culture is about to move to a new phase, it has been revealed, as The Simpsons prepares to see Waylon Smithers come out to his tyrannical employer, Mr Burns.

After decades of lusting after the skeletal billionaire, the besotted personal assistant will reveal his sexuality to the object of his affections in two new episodes, the long-running Fox cartoon’s showrunner Al Jean has hinted.

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Jean told TVLine that Smithers’ sexuality would be discussed in two episodes during season 27, which premiered in the US on Sunday night.

“In Springfield now, most people know he’s gay, but obviously Burns doesn’t,” Jean said.

“We deal with that in two episodes,” Jean said. “We actually do a lot with Smithers this year. He gets fed up with Burns not appreciating him and considers his options.”

Smithers’s affections for his boss have provided a deep vein of comedy for the show, with dozens of episodes hinting that he is gay and in love with Mr Burns. In one episode set at a “do what you feel festival”, Smithers tells him: “Sir, in the spirit of the festival and everything, I’d just like to say that I … love you,” adding quickly: “In those colors!” He then whispers to himself: “Oh, who am I kidding? The boathouse was the time!”

Simpsons director David Silverman said in July 2007 that the “cat’s almost out of the bag” regarding Smithers’s sexuality, defining him as a “Burns-sexual.”



Edward Schiappa, head of comparative media studies at MIT, said that while Smithers’s sexuality had been obvious for years, it was still noteworthy for a character on one of the most popular and long-lasting shows on American TV to come out.

“Springfield is about as middle American as one can get, and Smithers coming out within that fictional world mirrors – and reinforces – the mainstreaming of gays and lesbians in the real world,” Schiappa said.



His research has shown that including gay characters in television programs decreases prejudice in American viewers.

“I am sure there will be fireworks among certain conservative politicians, or maybe they will surprise me and just let the show have its fun,” he said.



According to the Simpsons Wiki website, an online encyclopedia about the show, Springfield is home to several gay characters, such as those who work at the Ajax Steel Mill, which turns into a gay nightclub at night, although there are only a few lesbian characters, the most prominent being Patricia “Patty” Bouvier, one of Marge Simpson’s twin sisters.

Patty came out and expressed her desire to get married to a woman in a February 2005 episode that was criticized by conservative media monitoring groups such as the American Family Association and heralded by LGBT rights groups such as GLAAD.

“Even though The Simpsons is generally kind of a wacky animated program, it was still very one-sided in its presentation on the issue of same-sex marriage,” said Ed Vitagliano, a researcher for American Family Association, at the time.

Earlier this year, when Harry Shearer, the voice actor who plays Smithers, as well as Mr Burns, Ned Flanders and several other characters, announced he was leaving The Simpsons, there was speculation among fans that Smithers might be written out of the show. But Shearer’s contract dispute was resolved – ensuring Smithers lived to murmur “yes, sir” another day.