If you grew up watching The Simpsons, you can probably hear the sound in your head. The low, guttural growl of "Why you little—!" followed by the frantic, gurgling gasps of a ten-year-old boy. For over thirty years, Bart Simpson being choked by his father was just... a thing. It was a cartoon staple, as predictable as the couch gag or Maggie’s pacifier. But recently, the internet went into a full-blown meltdown over whether Homer had actually hung up his strangling gloves for good.
It started with a seemingly throwaway line in Season 35. In an episode titled "McMansion & Wife," Homer meets a new neighbor named Thayer. When Thayer comments on how firm Homer's handshake is, the patriarch of the Simpson clan turns to Marge and quips, "See, Marge, strangling the boy paid off." Then, looking at the camera (and the audience), he adds: "Just kidding, I don't do that anymore. Times have changed."
Kinda crazy how five seconds of dialogue can trigger a week of international news headlines, right?
The Reality of the "Retirement"
Honestly, the media frenzy was a bit of a "clickbait" storm. While Homer’s comment felt like a definitive policy change, the show's producers weren't quite ready to let the gag go into a permanent grave. After the internet erupted—with some fans cheering for "character growth" and others screaming about "woke" culture ruining comedy—the showrunners stepped in.
Executive producer James L. Brooks was pretty blunt about it. He told People magazine, "Nothing's getting tamed. Nothing, nothing, nothing." To drive the point home, the official Simpsons X account (formerly Twitter) posted a drawing of Homer actively strangling Bart. In the drawing, Bart is holding a phone showing a news headline about the gag being retired. Homer’s caption? "Why you little clickbaiting!!"
It was a classic Simpsons meta-move. They trolled the people who were trolling them for supposedly getting soft.
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Why it feels different now
Even though the writers say the gag isn't dead, you’ve probably noticed it’s way less frequent.
The last time Bart Simpson being choked actually appeared as a physical action on screen—not just a reference or a drawing—was back in Season 31, around 2019. That's a long gap. For a show that once featured the strangling almost every other week, the shift is undeniable.
The humor is shifting because the world is shifting. Back in 1989, the "dysfunctional family" was a reaction to the sugary-sweet perfection of The Cosby Show or The Waltons. In that context, a dad losing his cool and throttling his bratty kid felt like dark, edgy satire. It was a "what not to do" guide for parents.
But fast forward to 2026. We look at child safety and domestic dynamics a lot differently. What used to be "slapstick" now feels a lot more like "abuse" to younger viewers. Even the show addressed this internally years ago. Remember the Season 22 episode "Love is a Many Strangled Thing"? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (the NBA legend himself) guest-starred and gave Homer a taste of his own medicine. He strangled Homer to show him what it felt like to be "young, small, and terrified."
The "Hack GPT" Meta-Commentary
Things got even weirder in the Season 36 premiere. The episode, "Bart's Birthday," was framed as a series finale written by an AI called "Hack GPT." It was full of cheesy, sentimental endings for every character. Mr. Burns died and left his money to the workers. Principal Skinner moved away. It was all too perfect.
Bart, sensing that something was wrong, realized that the only way to break the AI's logic was to provoke his dad. He forced Homer into a rage. When Homer finally snapped and started the classic strangling, the AI "short-circuited."
The message from the writers was loud and clear: AI can write "nice" things, but only humans can write the messy, problematic, and occasionally dark stuff that makes The Simpsons real. By using the strangling as a "reality reset," the show basically claimed the gag as a badge of its own humanity—even if it is a bit ugly.
What most people get wrong
People love to blame "Disney" for the lack of strangling. Ever since the Mouse House bought Fox, there's been this assumption that Mickey Mouse is behind the scenes with a red pen, crossing out anything remotely violent.
But showrunner Matt Selman has been pretty open about the fact that they have a lot of creative freedom. The reduction in the gag isn't a corporate mandate; it's a creative choice. If you do the same joke for 700+ episodes, it gets boring. "Why you little" has basically become the "Bazinga" of Springfield. It’s a legacy catchphrase, but it doesn't always serve the story anymore.
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Is the gag actually gone?
Technically? No.
Practically? Sorta.
The writers have essentially moved the goalposts. They'll use the strangling for "impact" or meta-commentary, but you won't see it as a casual punchline at the end of every kitchen-table argument. It’s now a tool in the toolbox, not a reflex.
There's a specific kind of nuance here. The show isn't "apologizing" for the past, but it is acknowledging that a 10-year-old boy being choked isn't the easy laugh it was in 1992.
How to watch the classic gags today
If you’re feeling nostalgic for the era of peak physical comedy, there are a few ways to dive back in:
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- Disney+ supercuts: Fans have compiled "every strangling ever" lists that run for nearly an hour. It's a surreal experience to watch them all back-to-back.
- The Simpsons Movie: This features one of the most "high-stakes" versions of the gag, occurring on a roof while the town is in chaos.
- Treehouse of Horror: The show often uses its non-canon Halloween specials to push the violence further than they ever could in a standard episode.
Whether you think the change is "woke" or just "overdue," the evolution of Bart Simpson being choked is a fascinating mirror of how we’ve changed as an audience. The show has survived for nearly 40 years because it knows when to pivot. Sometimes that means admitting that "times have changed," even if you still keep the old habits in your back pocket for a rainy day.
Next Steps for Fans
Check out the Season 36 premiere "Bart's Birthday" to see the show's most recent take on the gag. It’s a great example of how the writers use their own history to comment on the state of modern television and AI.