I used to love The Simpsons when I was little but it wasn’t until I recently bought the DVDs that I realized just how hateful and fatphobic the show could be. Off the top of my head, here are a few examples:

- Homer, who is a large man himself, often says “No fat chicks!”

- In The Springfield Files, Scully makes Homer run on a treadmill in the guise of it being an important test, but she really just thinks he should lose some weight. She then says that his flab jiggles “like a lava lamp”.

- In Homer’s Triple-Bypass, Dr Hibbert gives Homer a fat analysis test by making his belly flab jiggle and seeing how long it takes to stop. It doesn’t stop jiggling at all, and Dr Hibbert tells his nurse to “cancel his 2:00” appointment.

- In the episode The Last Exit to Springfield, Lisa notices Bart is putting on weight and says, “Hey tubby, want another pop-tart, tubby?”

- In the episode Treehouse of Horror I, the aliens Kang and Kodos abduct the Simpson family, but Homer is so fat that the tractor beam cannot carry him up to the spaceship, so the aliens turn on multiple tractor beams just to get him up there.

In the episode Treehouse of Horror VI, Homer disappears into an alternate universe and Patty and Selma joke that he “disappeared into fat air.”

- In the episode Love Is A Many Strangled Thing, Homer boards a boat and there is a sign at the door that says, “Weight limit: One Precious”

- In the episode Donny Fatso, Fat Tony dies of a heart-attack and is replaced by his cousin “Fit Tony”….who then becomes “Fat Tony” when he stops exercising and starts eating lots of junk food.

- In the episode Bart After Dark, Mr Burns reveals that he hates being outdoors because “there are too many fat children”.

- In the episode Lisa On Ice, Homer makes fun of an 8 year old boy for having breasts, then chases him around the locker room while laughing. The boy then says, “Don’t make me run, I’m full of chocolate!”

In the episode The Homer They Call, a man says to Comic Book Guy, “A fat, sarcastic Star Trek fan…you must be a devil with the ladies.” This isn’t the first time Comic Book Guy has been mocked for his weight.

- In the episode Brother Can You Spare A Dime, a doctor is confused when it is revealed that Homer has 104% body fat. The extra 4% is then revealed to be the fatty foods that Homer smuggled into the doctor’s office.

- In the episode Lisa The Simpson, Lisa is terrified that she will lose her intelligence and envisions what her life will be like if she was dumb. In her vision she is as an obese redneck who needs a “prying bar” just to get off the couch.

In the episode Springfield Up, Homer insists he is fat because he has a glandular problem. The tone of this scene implies we are meant to laugh at Homer here.

- In the episode Sweets and Sour Marge, the town attempts to create the biggest human pyramid in the world but they fail when everybody falls down due to their immense weight. It is then learned that Springfield is the fattest town in the ENTIRE WORLD, which leads Marge to sue the local sugar company for making people fat. (Because obviously the only way people can be fat is due to sugar, right? Ugh)

- In the same episode, we are introduced the Cletus’ cousin Dia-Betty (get it? Diabetes!) who is morbidly obese and a parody of Bonnie Grape from What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.

(According to the DVD audio commentary, this episode came to fruition when the writers decided to compile a list of fat Simpsons characters and realized that the list went on forever. But why should the characters’ weight even matter? It’s a nice change to see a show where the majority of the cast is fat, even if it is only a cartoon show. It really sucks that the writers had to make a big deal about it.)

- The episode King Size Homer is probably the worst example of fatphobia. Homer strives to gain lots of weight so that he can claim disability and work from home (which is a problematic concept to begin with). When Homer goes to the cinema, they won’t allow him inside because he’s too big for the seats. When Homer goes shopping, the only clothes that fit him are mu-mus and ponchos. When Homer works at home, the neighborhood kids laugh at him and mock his weight (and we’re supposed to be laughing WITH them, because it’s “funny” that Homer can’t get up to yell at them for mocking him!) When Homer inadvertently puts the Nuclear Power Plant in danger, he tries calling his boss to alert him to the situation - but his fingers are too fat to dial the number. He then tries to get into his car and the tires collapse under his weight. He then hijacks an icecream truck and gorges himself on the icecreams while driving to the Plant.

- In the same episode, Bart fantasizes about becoming so fat he has to wash himself with a rag on a stick.

I could probably think of more examples. But those are just a handful of gross examples of The Simpsons joking about or flat-out mocking fatness.