I grew up with The Simpsons. Every day at 5 pm, I settled in front of a television to tune in. I probably shouldn’t have been allowed to watch The Simpsons at the age of three, but hey, I turned out OK (maybe). Something I never understood was why Mr. Burns sang “Happy Birthday Mr. Smithers” to him coming out of a birthday cake with nothing but a sash on. I also did not understand why my mom found that hilarious.
Though hinted at heavily throughout the series, Mr. Smithers has never come out of the closet officially. Even most of the characters in Springfield know about it. However, the one person who matters most to Smithers doesn’t know. That would be Mr. Burns. According to TVLine, however, it looks like an announcement may be in the works.
Executive Producer Al Jean:
“In Springfield now, most people know he’s gay, but obviously Burns doesn’t. We deal with that in two episodes. We actually do a lot with Smithers this year; he gets fed up with Burns not appreciating him and considers his options.”
We’ve had gay characters on television. So what’s so great about this? Well, the show has been going for 27 seasons. Out of 27 seasons, Smithers has never come forward and announced it. I can’t think of a better time. With the SCOTUS decision, it’s the perfect time for Smithers to stand proudly and admit who he is. This does show the progression we have made. Not to mention The Simpsons is a historically significant animated television show in the history of television. This moment has long been overdue.
Check out the below video for the clip of Mr. Burns singing “Happy Birthday” to Smithers.
