Homer's Phobia

"Homer's Phobia"
The Simpsons episode
Homer meets John. John's design was largely based on Waters' own appearance, but he was animated with thicker hair and a "wavy" moustache instead of his trademark pencil moustache.[1][2]
Episode no.Season 8
Episode 15
Directed byMike B. Anderson
Written byRon Hauge
Production code4F11
Original air dateFebruary 16, 1997 (1997-02-16)[3]
Guest appearance
Episode features
Couch gagSomeone tries to download the family from the Internet, but finding it too slow, attempts to cancel it.[4]
Commentary
Episode chronology
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The Simpsons season 8
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"Homer's Phobia" is the fifteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 16, 1997. In the episode, Homer dissociates himself from new family friend John after discovering that John is gay. Homer particularly fears that his son Bart will become gay if Bart spends time with John, so Homer decides to do hypermasculine activities with Bart, believing the activities will ensure Bart turns out to be heterosexual.

It was the first episode written by Ron Hauge and was directed by Mike B. Anderson. George Meyer pitched "Bart the homo" as an initial idea for an episode while showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were planning an episode involving Lisa "discovering the joys of campy things". Oakley and Weinstein combined the two ideas, and they eventually became "Homer's Phobia". Fox censors originally found the episode unsuitable for broadcast because of its controversial subject matter, but this decision was reversed after a turnover in the Fox staff. Filmmaker John Waters guest-starred, providing the voice of the new character, John (named "Javier" in the Latin American Spanish version).

"Homer's Phobia" was the show's first episode to revolve entirely around gay themes and received a positive critical response both for its humor and anti-homophobia message. It won four awards, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less) and a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding TV – Individual Episode" in 1998.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference JohnWaterscom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference mike was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN 98141857. OCLC 37796735. OL 433519M.
  4. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Homer's Phobia". BBC. Retrieved February 13, 2007.