The producers of The Simpsons are pulling the 1991 "Stark Raving Dad" episode featuring Michael Jackson, uncredited, from rerun rotation and streaming services. This follows news that a number of radio stations will no longer play Jackson's music in the wake of the sexual molestation allegations described in the new documentary Leaving Neverland. From Variety:
“It feels clearly the only choice to make,” executive producer James L. Brooks told the Wall Street Journal, which broke the news on Thursday. He told the paper that fellow executive producers Matt Groening and Al Jean agreed with the decision. “The guys I work with — where we spend our lives arguing over jokes — were of one mind on this,” Brooks said.
In the episode, Jackson voiced the character Leon Kompowsky, who meets Homer Simpson in a mental institution. Simpson brings home the character, a large white man who claims to be Michael Jackson. Ultimately, Leon helps Bart Simpson celebrate his sister’s birthday by singing one of the show’s most memorable tunes, “Happy Birthday Lisa.” Jackson didn’t actually sing on the episode; Kipp Lennon mimicked Jackson’s voice on all of the episode’s songs…
“I’m against book burning of any kind. But this is our book, and we’re allowed to take out a chapter,” he told the Journal.
